Reentry Services
Description
AFC’s corrections case management program supports returning citizens who are HIV-positive as they are released from incarceration. The program connects clients from the moment they leave jail or prison; with support from AFC and 10 other partners, those clients receive a primary care medical appointment, housing, substance abuse services, and/or mental health services. Why we need it with the increased number of people experiencing…
Our work
Women Evolving Program and Corrections Case Management
In 2007, AFC established its Corrections Case Management program, which offers intensive case management to assist criminally justice involved (CJI) people living with HIV in accessing the necessary medical, behavioral, and structural supports to increase life stability and promote continued engagement in the HIV continuum of care.
Since that time, AFC has piloted additional multi-partner, multi-sector reentry initiatives that have 1) streamlined access to comprehensive wraparound supports, including housing and employment, for HIV-positive individuals to returning from jail or prison, and 2) improved systems coordination and capacity to meet the complex needs of cis and trans men and women returning to Chicago from Illinois prisons and Cook County Jail. The program serves 245 clients a year in the Chicago area.
One of the initiatives, AFC’s Women Evolving project, builds on Corrections Case Management and specifically serves criminally justice involved Black cisgender and transgender women living with HIV. Women Evolving is designed to streamline entry into health care, promote retention and HIV treatment adherence, and improve viral suppression rates for justice-involved Black cisgender and transgender women. Women Evolving 1) expedites their access to HIV, primary, and behavioral health care; 2) reduces burdens, barriers, and competing priorities that threaten their retention/engagement in care and treatment adherence; and 3) increases local capacity to deliver culturally competent, trauma-informed supports for the population of focus. To this end, Women Evolving delivers evidence-informed interventions at the client, provider, and system levels.
Why we need it
With the increased number of people experiencing incarceration in the U.S., and because of the unique risks people emerging from jail or prison face, maintaining treatment for HIV can be a challenge.
The corrections case management program provides intensive case management to the reentry population to ensure they get connected to care — and stay connected. This program enhances the likelihood of the client not returning to prison, increases health outcomes and reduces death rates.
Results
In a 2010 study, it was confirmed that only 23% of participants in the corrections case management project re-entered jail or prison. The statewide re-incarceration rate in 2010 was 51.6%.
In 2022 alone, AFC’s Women Evolving program served 42 individuals and Corrections Case Management served 246 people continuing AFC’s work to eliminate barriers for returning citizens from jail or prison living with HIV and AIDS by providing key resources normally out of reach.
Contact
To connect to the corrections case management program, or to learn more, contact Donnise Gaffeney at 866-628-6678.