Study Details | Pathways to Work

28405-Post-Release Intensive Case Management for Reentering Women

Study quality: Low

Low

Reason for the rating: This study received a low study quality rating because it is a quasi-experimental design that does not adjust estimated impacts for potentially important differences between the intervention and comparison groups.

Intervention: Post-Release Intensive Case Management for Reentering Women

Population and employment barriers:

Sex (Female), Specific employment barriers (Former incarceration, Justice system involvement)

Services provided:

Case management, Education, Health services (Physical health services, Substance use disorder treatment and mental health services), Supportive services, Work readiness activities (Job search assistance)

Setting: Tested in multiple settings

Study design

Design:

Quasi-experimental design

Study group formation:

This study uses a quasi-experimental design that compares (1) outcomes for an intervention group composed of people who chose to participate in intensive case management (ICM) both before and after being released from prison with (2) outcomes for a comparison group composed of people who chose to participate in ICM only before being released from prison. All study participants were women released from a Kentucky state prison from August 2009 to December 31, 2012.

Time period of study:

Authors examine outcomes for individuals released from a state prison between August 2009 and December 2012.

Pathways only reports results from studies with a study quality rating of high or moderate.

Sample characteristics

Age

Mean age

35 years

Sex

Female

100%

Participant race and ethnicity

White	97%
Unknown or not reported	3%

The race and ethnicity categories may sum to more than 100 percent if the authors reported race and ethnicity separately; in these cases, we report the category White, rather than White, not Hispanic.

Family status

Married

Participant employment and public benefit status

Were employed	31%
Were unemployed	53%

Participant education

Had some postsecondary education	27%
Had a high school diploma or GED	62%
Did not have a high school diploma or GED	38%

Specific employment barriers

Had a mental illness	74%
Were involved with the justice system	100%
Were formerly incarcerated	100%

Intervention implementation

Implementing organization:

Kentucky Department of Corrections

Intervention services:

Intervention group members were women released from a state prison and returning to the northern Kentucky area who received intensive case management (ICM) both while in prison and after release. This intensive care model involved case managers working with a participant while she was incarcerated to determine her needs and goals and to establish a Reentry Plan for support once she was released into the community. Once the participant was released from prison, case managers connected participants to mental and physical health treatment, employment, education, and housing services. Once in the program, staff were available to participants 24 hours a day for case management, and there were no limits to the duration of participation. Mental and physical health treatment services included direct referrals for mental health, substance use disorders, and medical and dental treatment, and assistance following treatment recommendations. Employment services included support with resume writing, interview skills, and obtaining work clothes. Education services included connecting participants with GED classes and support with completing applications for college and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Housing services included helping participants obtain safe housing that suited their needs (for example, placement in a halfway house). Case managers supported participants in meeting basic needs, such as helping them obtain identification documents and apply for public benefit receipt. They also taught participants healthy coping and general life skills, provided legal advocacy (for example, by attending court with the participant), gave transportation assistance (for example, by providing bus tickets), and assisted participants during crises.

Mandatory services:

None

Comparison services:

Comparison group members were women released from a state prison and returning to the northern Kentucky area who received ICM only while in prison and not after release. These participants worked with case managers while in prison to assess their needs and establish a Reentry Plan, and may have received some services while in prison. However, these participants did not receive assistance, supports, or referrals to services upon their release from prison.

Study publications

McDonald, Danielle, and Staci Arlinghaus (2014). The role of intensive case management services in reentry: The Northern Kentucky Female Offender Reentry Project, Women & Criminal Justice 24(3): 229-251. Available at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08974454.2014.909759.

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The Pathways Clearinghouse refers to interventions by the names used in study reports or manuscripts. Some intervention names may use language that is not consistent with our style guide, preferences, or the terminology we use to describe populations.

Study of Post-Release Intensive Case Management (ICM) for Reentering Women