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SOCIAL WORK UNIT

The DPSCS Social Work Department provides comprehensive release planning services to the special needs population returning to the community, cognitive-behavioral group treatment to the entire incarcerated individual population, and short-term, solution-focused individual counseling services.

Release Planning Services

Release planning services are provided to individuals with serious mental illness, major medical issues, HIV/AIDS, developmental disabilities, physical disabilities (including individuals who are blind, deaf, individuals living in wheelchairs), and those with lengthy sentences. Social Workers complete a psychosocial assessment of each individual and connect them to housing, medical care, mental health care, entitlements such as medical assistance and Social Security Income, substance use treatment, job training programs, veterans programs, support groups, and any other necessary community resources. The social work unit regularly refers individuals to nursing homes, assisted living facilities, transitional housing programs, inpatient substance use treatment facilities, Residential Rehabilitation Programs (for the seriously mentally ill population), and VA housing programs. When all other options are exhausted, individuals may be referred to local shelters. They aim to assign qualified individuals to a social worker within 6-12 months of their anticipated release date.

Cognitive-Behavioral Group Treatment

Social Workers across the State provide an array of evidence-based group treatment. Group programming is offered to the entire population. Referrals for group participation can come from any department but most often are by self-referral. Groups usually consist of 10-15 individuals and run roughly 6-12 weeks, depending on the program. The goal of group treatment is to address the psychological, cognitive, and behavioral challenges that lead to incarceration.

Social Work Groups offered may include:

  • Communications
  • Decisions/ Decision Making
  • Domestic Violence
  • Relationships
  • Seeking Safety (Trauma)
  • Thinking for a Change
  • Thinking, Deciding, and Changing
  • Victim Impact: Listen and Learn
  • Anger Management
  • Parenting Group
  • Inside Out Dad
  • Decision Points
  • Trauma Education and Support for Survivors (TESS)
  • Moral Reconation Therapy

Individual Treatment Services

Social Workers provide clinical counseling and crisis intervention services to individuals in need of short-term, solution-focused treatment to address specific issues. In some institutions with Special Needs Units, Social Work provides long-term individual treatment in partnership with Mental Health staff.