Improving Programming and Treatment Effectiveness for Formerly Incarcerated Individuals with Mental Health Care Needs: An Analysis of Community Re-Entry Experiences Among Parole Officers

This thesis examines the re-entry processes of individuals with mental health needs upon their release from prison. In order to uncover the resources that are provided to formerly incarcerated individuals with clinically diagnosed mental health issues, parole officers who have experience supervising individuals with mental health needs were interviewed. The purpose of the interviews was to understand the experiences parole officers have regarding current supervision practices that are used, as well as programming and treatment opportunities parole officers know are available to this population of re-entrants. Being aware of the resources that are provided to formerly incarcerated individuals with mental health needs will help identify how to improve supervision, programming, and treatment so as to better support this population. As research and literature on the re-entry experiences of individuals with mental health care needs have demonstrated the extensive privations this population experiences, interviewing parole officers will reveal the roles parole officers, treatment providers, and programming have in supporting this population upon their release from prison. Moreover, interviewing parole officers will help identify how to improve parole outcomes for re-entrants with clinically diagnosed mental health issues.