Members of Alabama’s Reentry 2030 Task Force received updates this week on subcommittees expanding behavioral health treatment, housing, data coordination and employment opportunities for people leaving incarceration, with officials pointing to early results they say could significantly reduce recidivism statewide.
The Behavioral Health and Housing Working Group reported progress on three priorities: strengthening cross-systems collaboration and information sharing, ensuring continuity of care upon reentry, and increasing the availability of safe, supportive and quality housing.
Officials said the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles has released and scored a request for proposals to expand recovery housing near existing and future Day Reporting Centers, with contract negotiations underway. A new feature of the proposal includes telehealth services and access to long-acting injectable behavioral health medications for people with serious mental illness.
“A key new feature of this RFP is the inclusion of telehealth and access to long-acting injectable behavioral health medications,” the group reported, noting that individuals often receive injectables while incarcerated but “then face barriers accessing them in the community.”
The Department of Corrections has also expanded medication-assisted opioid treatment beyond substance-use treatment dorms, allowing individuals to remain in the general prison population while receiving care. MOUD is currently available in eight facilities and is expanding to 12.
On housing, the group examined Kentucky’s statewide recovery housing model and described its work as complementary to ongoing law enforcement efforts by focusing on implementation pathways, funding strategies and continuity of care across systems.
Bob McGough of the Department of Corrections’ IT division provided an update from the Data Working Group, which has been reviewing how reentry-related data is collected and defined across state agencies.
“We’ve focused on building a clearer picture of what reentry data is currently collected across state agencies,” said McGough. “Through that process, we’re identifying gaps in both data quality and data coverage.”
McGough said the group’s focus has shifted toward aligning data collection with the state’s Reentry 2030 goals.
“That means shifting from a mindset of what data exists to a more purposeful question: what do we need to know to improve reentry outcomes? This is about making sure data directly informs programs, policies and services — not data for data’s sake,” said McGough.
Josh Gaines, presenting on behalf of the Economic Mobility Working Group, said the group has identified manufacturing, logistics and skilled trades as industries offering sustainable wages with relatively low barriers to entry.
“We’ve identified key industries where barriers are low, wages are sustainable and opportunities for growth are significant,” Gaines said.
The group reviewed more than 550 conviction-based barriers to employment embedded in Alabama statutes and regulations, most of which apply to occupational licensing. Gaines noted that legislation passed last year prohibits automatic denial of licenses based on criminal history and establishes clearer standards for licensing boards.
Gaines also pointed to certificates of relief and employability as tools that reduce employer liability and expand access to work.
“One of the top reasons employers cite for not hiring people with criminal histories is liability,” said Gaines.
The task force also heard from Lindsay Cline, director of strategic partnerships for the U.S. Navy’s Maritime Industrial Base, who said Alabama’s shipbuilding and submarine production efforts will require a major workforce expansion, with 15,000 positions needing to be filled on the Gulf Coast alone.
Officials said many of the positions are in skilled trades such as welding, shipfitting and machining, with wages starting above $20 an hour.
State leaders said partnerships like the Perry County Prep Center, which has reported recidivism rates near 1 percent, demonstrate how coordinated treatment, training and employment can produce long-term results.
“If we can continue that pattern of therapy and addiction treatment and then have this kind of partner hiring people, it’s going to change everything for our reentry and recidivism effort,” one member said.
Stan Robinson, who oversees education, programs and reentry for the Alabama Department of Corrections, reported progress on installing driver’s license workstations inside correctional facilities, beginning at Elmore Correctional Facility.
“It’s not some special thing just for ADOC,” he said. “It’s just like going to a probate office — exactly the same. It looks the same, it is the same, it has the same signature, but we’ve adopted through negotiation with ALEA and the attorneys, obviously, to make sure that the identification requirements, we can use our paperwork and different things, and it meets their same standards,” said Robinson.
The program allows eligible individuals to receive temporary identification before release, with permanent cards mailed to the facility after release. The department is also issuing birth certificates and Social Security cards to individuals preparing to reenter.
“We’re always continuing to look at effective and efficient means to reach as many of our inmate population as we can,” Stan said, “and still be good stewards of the taxpayers’ money.”
