Re-entry program tries to help break vicious circle of recidivism

One of the aspects that set humans apart from many species is our ability to understand and thrive in a community setting.

But for many people coming out of the prison system, reintegrating back into their communities can be an extremely difficult process — often filled with barriers they feel they can’t overcome due to lack of funds, transportation and community support. 

The Native American Issues Subcommittee held a panel discussion June 7 at the KwaTaqNuk Resort in Polson to discuss the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ re-entry program. The Flathead Reservation Re-entry Program began in January to help support Native Americans coming back to the Flathead Indian Reservation.

Montana Department of Corrections Director Mike Batista said the program aims to not only give people returning from prison and jails an opportunity to step outside the vicious circle of recidivism, but also to educate communities about how they can help their community members and families.

“We have to make communities understand that they are coming home,” Batista said. 

Ann Sherwood, Managing Tribal Defender, and her team of public defenders are working to give Native Americans coming back to the Flathead Indian Reservation the opportunity to leave the criminal justice system and become contributing members of their communities.

The initiative is a holistic program that aims to provide resources such as housing, jobs, assistance to sign up for health care, and mental health and addiction counseling. 

The program received a $600,000 Second Chance Grant last October, supplying funds to plan and implement the program on the reservation. 

Sherwood saw the necessity of the program after looking at the prison population in Montana.

Of more than one million Montanans, 7 percent are Native American.Native Americans, however, represent 20 percent of male prisoners and 36 percent of female prisoners in Montana. Many are non-violent offenders.

The rate of recidivism is also substantially high. According to the panel, 75 to 80 percent of those leaving prison will return to the criminal justice system because of violation of probation terms or sentencing requirements.

But according to Sherwood, many of these repeat offenders are violating their terms because they lack support and don’t understand how to comply with their probation and sentencing standards.

The program would give them the resources needed to stay out of prison and jail. Many fail to find of housing, leaving them on the streets where it’s easier to fall back on old habits and wind up back in jail.

The CSKT re-entry program incorporates four pillars of defense to achieve its goals: seamless access to services (mental health, addiction counseling, drivers licensing and housing); an interdisciplinary approach to solving issues; interdisciplinary training for its staff and a strong connection to the community it serves. 

The staff is pulled mainly from the tribal defenders’ office, but also includes two University of Montana psychology Ph.D candidates who help with assessments. It also works in conjunction with the Department of Justice to get inmates and offenders into the program. 

Since the program’s beginnings in January, Sherwood and her team have brought in 65 people, have had 235 referrals and have helped seven people get approved for Medicaid. Sherwood believes this is a large step for the program, as access to health care also provides them with access to mental and addiction counseling. 

Sherwood says the program also offers job counseling and works with the tribal employment office to find work for those in the program. 

Ultimately, the program benefits communities by reducing taxpayer money needed to house inmates and giving people the opportunity to better their lives.

Sherwood and Program Director Susette Billedeaux hope that by understanding why people are going back to jail, they will be able to help them avoid re-entering the criminal justice system.

“If we can figure out why they are going back in,” said Billedeaux. “It’s better than bigger jails.”