Page 1132 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 10 April 2018
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can lead to increased rates of recidivism. This is because the period immediately after being released from prison is a critical transition point for individuals and the time when support needs are greatest.
People leaving detention are also at an increased risk of suicide in the period immediately following release. A study of prisoners released from New South Wales facilities found that the risk of suicide, particularly for men, was four times higher in the first two weeks after release than in the period beyond six months after release. Having the right supports in place during that critical period can make all the difference to improve a person’s health and wellbeing and set them on a path to reintegrate successfully into the community.
DECO has been delivering services for just over three years and the data demonstrates that the program provides an overall positive improvement for participants. This is particularly true in the work and social networks domains, which are significant for reducing recidivism and supporting participants to rejoin and participate in their wider community. The program has also supported the majority of participants to achieve positive outcomes in their personal lives, including reconciliation with family, employment, establishing a family and study. We know that these can be significant protective factors for people’s mental health.
From July to December last year, DECO maintained an average of 21 participants in the community and seven participants pre-release in the AMC. The average length of participation was 177 days, equating to around six months, though noting that some people with more complex needs required a longer period of support, which the program provides for. The program delivered 2,220 hours of face-to-face direct service delivery over that period.
In recent years there has been a move away from behavioural rehabilitation methods adopted within corrections programs. A growing body of evidence suggests that peer mentoring and social support models are more effective in a community setting. The results to date show that DECO has been effective in reducing recidivism rates and improving health outcomes for former detainees.
As Minister for Corrections and Minister for Mental Health, I am committed to continuing to invest in prevention and early intervention initiatives like this that can help to improve outcomes for individuals and our community as a whole. We simply cannot afford, as a social or an economic measure, to keep expanding our acute services to respond to people in crisis.
Whether it is the AMC, the adult mental health unit or Dhulwa, people will always face the challenge of transitioning out of an institutional setting back into the community. For people experiencing mental illness, this transition can be all the more difficult, and without the right supports we can set people up to fail. Programs like DECO require an up-front investment of time and resources to provide that intensive support in that most vulnerable period, but the long-term benefits of that investment are now becoming apparent.
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