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Abstract: 

In 1996, the Connecticut Department of Corrections (CDOC) and Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) formed an interagency collaboration to routinely “reduce the likelihood that recently released offenders with mental health needs will ‘fall through the cracks’ and miss opportunities to be connected to social services.” More specifically, this collaborative effort’s objective was to break down “barriers between systems and providers” and disrupt “the cycle of untreated mentally ill offenders returning to prison.” Later, the CORP was established for more focused treatment of offenders who commit serious assaults, robberies, and rape. What Connecticut found, not surprisingly, was that these offenders were at high risk of rearrest, and reincarceration once released from prison. Proper intervention programs reduce recidivism rates for mentally ill offenders.

Keywords: recidivism; mental illness

Affiliations:  .