The SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) program has helped tens of thousands of people access disability income benefits. The SOAR approach is designed to provide assistance with benefits applications to individuals who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness and have a serious mental illness, medical impairment, and/or a co-occurring substance use disorder.
It is not uncommon for these criteria to apply to individuals in contact with the criminal justice system. For example, compared to the general public, people who have been incarcerated are 10 times more likely to experience homelessness, not taking into account those who are otherwise categorized as “housing insecure.” Moreover, 17–34 percent of individuals in the criminal justice system live with a serious mental illness (SMI) diagnosis, compared to 5.7 percent of the general public.
The Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) details how individuals with mental and substance use disorders come into contact with and move through the criminal justice system. Years of experience, as well as a few “aha moments,” have prompted the integration of SOAR into the SIM to support both diversion of individuals from the criminal justice system and also successful reentry for people returning to the community.
Evolution
Researchers have documented the bi-directional relationship between homelessness and involvement with the criminal justice system. This finding became apparent to Dazara Ware, assistant director and criminal justice system expert of the SOAR Technical Assistance Center, through direct experience earlier in her career. “As a young police officer, I quickly realized that arresting people for sleeping outdoors not only failed to address the root problem of homelessness but also set them up for deeper involvement with the criminal justice system,” she explains. “At the time, they were often released on bond, and the court date would be sent in the mail. With no permanent address, they never received that date and thereby faced the possibility of a felony arrest for failing to appear in court.”
Subsequent experience as a counselor with the Georgia Department of Corrections and the discovery of SOAR prompted Ware to question reentry as a process for individuals who had limited resources before their incarceration and were just as likely to have limited resources upon their exit. “I wondered how the trajectory of reentry would change if access to resources and benefits were in place before they left a correctional facility,” she recalls.
A successful pilot project at the Fulton County Jail during Ware’s time as Georgia’s SOAR state team lead bolstered her belief in the value of SOAR across the SIM’s intercepts. Fast forward to her current position, in which Ware contributed to the development of the infographic Integrating SOAR Within the Sequential Intercept Model. “Most people in the criminal justice field are familiar with the SIM,” she points out. “I wanted to create a visual that shows how SOAR can help in each intercept and provide real-life examples of what that looks like.”
In Practice
Mecklenburg County Criminal Justice Services (CJS) in Charlotte, North Carolina, is featured as one of those real-life examples. SOAR was brought into CJS’ Forensic Evaluations Unit (FEU) in 2017 to reduce further criminal justice system involvement for individuals identified with serious and persistent mental illness. Four years later, Michelle Armstrong-Lavine was designated the SOAR coordinator/Mecklenburg County SOAR lead, and Chris Peters was hired as a full-time behavioral health diversion clinician (the latter position was funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge).
Armstrong-Lavine notes, “As a member of the FEU’s team devoted to diverting individuals with mental health conditions away from the criminal justice system, I provide SOAR services to eligible individuals in all intercepts. Most referrals come from our Recovery Court and Re-Entry Services, with some from Pretrial Services. Regardless of the intercept, I gather information about the individual’s ability to care for themselves or work and the supports they need to prevent deeper or repeated involvement with the criminal justice system or to re-enter the community.”
Peters adds, “Michelle’s perspective on a person’s functional capacity supplements the information that I gather as a clinician. I can identify a personality disorder or other mental health concern, but Michelle recognizes an individual’s capacity for success, given the proper resources. SOAR can open the door to those resources.”
Reimagining the Acronym
With a Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance application approval rate of 83 percent, it is evident that CJS’s SOAR program is opening doors, metaphorically and literally. Disability income benefits offer more housing options to individuals with complex needs, and stable housing supports recovery. Stable housing also reduces recidivism, which prompts Ware to suggest that the “r” in SOAR could just as truly stand for “reentry.”
“SOAR provides an opportunity to access the resources people need for successful reentry,” she elaborates. “For example, Mecklenburg County established a pre-release agreement with the Social Security Administration that allows individuals in custody to start the SOAR process 90 days before their release. This may result in disability income soon after release, which is badly needed support during an extremely vulnerable time.
For More Information
To contact Dazara Ware, email dware@prainc.com.
To contact Michelle Armstrong-Lavine, email Michelle.ArmstrongLavine@mecklenburgcountync.gov.
To contact Chris Peters, email Christopher.Peters@mecklenburgcountync.gov.
Like what you’ve read? Sign up to receive the monthly GAINS eNews!
[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]