People released from all types of detention facilities may not be fully prepared to re-enter society. They will transition from a life in which they had few choices to one in which they will have much greater control over their decisions. Many public resources bar ex-offenders, taking away supports that could help establish a crime-free life. The returnees find themselves at a crossroads; they can repeat the poor choices that led them to incarceration or make better ones and correct their life direction. Case managers coordinate with other service providers for their expertise and resources so that the client has a framework for making better decisions. , As discussed in a previous post, “Reduce Recidivism with the Right Assessment Tools”, case managers must meet with individuals who seek help or for whom you received a referral and screen them for eligibility. After a thorough screening, it’s time to move onto the next phase and develop the case management plan. Ideally, a single case plan is developed with input from all agencies interacting with the client - including the corrections, probation, and community-based providers - and the case plan follows the client into the community upon release. The corrections facility staff can provide insights on that to supplement your own assessment. In-Reach There is not a hard line between eligibility screening and initiating the services that meet each client’s constellation of needs. You can use the time you spend with them for screening to begin building trust. Many may not know what to expect when they return to society, particularly if they have been incarcerated for years. All of the networks from their life before incarceration may be broken. They might have lost family connections. Employment, housing, and public benefits are gone. Terms of release are likely to restrict contact with family and friends if they also have criminal histories. Assessment can flow into informal discussions with clients about their need to rebuild and what they have available to them. Defining those needs is the starting point for identifying the right post-release assistance and to create the structure for the service plan you will coordinate. Basic information about the client goes into the initial Casebook file. You can build on that with notes from your interviews. If you have set up a directory of providers within the program, you can enter them into the file as a workflow for the interventions you anticipate. Casebook provides organizations with the flexibility to configure it to suit their needs. Users can establish appropriate values for tracking legal factors for reentry. If the client has been sentenced to a period of probation or parole, you can maintain information about the requirements and the client’s compliance. This includes the assigned officer, when the client must report, and any other key information about terms and conditions of supervision. You can be a partner to the community probation or parole supervisor to support the client in making good choices and avoiding new offenses or technical violations that could return them to incarceration.