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Question:

I am working on a project that is trying to connect multiple groups, across professional sectors as well as community members, in an effort to reduce recidivism/enhance community stability for individuals and families after incarceration. One of the things we are trying to do is create a resource guide/reference guide type document for people to reference about what services exist, and basic information on how they are structured. For example, a mental health professional could reference it to get a basic idea of how community corrections works, what services they provide, how the funding works, and a general contact number/site for more information. Or a case manager in a correctional facility could reference it to see how a person quaifies for Medicaid, or how substance abuse treatment is paid for in Iowa and how the waitlists work. I've done a lot of looking around to try and find some guidance or even an example of what I am trying to do- basically a source of information to better connect people to services that already exist to try and reduce duplication, identify gaps, and reduce the "silo" effect. Not a directory, but it would have important contacts in it. Is this something you have any resources you could point me towards? Or language to describe it even? If not no worries, I might be making it more complicated than it actually is.

Your site is amazing, and I am sure I will visit it frequently now that I have discovered it, thanks!

Answer:

Your project sounds like a very important one: "trying to connect multiple groups, across professional sectors as well as community members, in an effort to reduce recidivism/enhance community stability for individuals and families after incarceration." You hope to develop a resource guide/reference guide that would assist people and are looking for examples. You have probably already checked out resources such as:
https://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ReducingRecidivism_StatesDeliverResults.pdf: “Reducing Recidivism: States Deliver Results”
https://csgjusticecenter.org/youth/publications/juvenile-justice-white-paper/: “Reducing Recidivism and Improving Outcomes for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System”
http://www.ncsc.org/topics/problem-solving-courts/mental-health-courts/resource-guide.aspx: “Mental Health Courts: Resource Guides
They probably aren't quite what you are hoping to put together but they are interesting examples of how people are putting together information. I wonder if the "Toolkits" part of the Community Tool Box might be a starting point for thinking about how you might organize your resource guide: what "skills" do people need to come together and work on this issue, what challenges are they likely to confront, and how can they work to overcome these challenges. The content of the Toolbox is directly focused on recidivism but you might find it useful to think about which parts would be helpful for your customized resource guild.
Best of luck on this important problem.

Question Date: أربعاء, 12/09/2015