Allen County Community Corrections
Residential Services
Residential Services location
About our Residential Facility
In response to provide alternative sentencing to incarceration to mitigate overcrowding in local jails by providing stable residential housing, ACCC opened the doors to Community Corrections’ Residential Services (CCRS) at 7117 Venture Lane, on August 25, 2020. For years prior to the facility’s inception, residential placement continued to be a significant need in Allen County, particularly in terms of sentencing and alternative rehabilitative methods/services, which was a significant disqualifying criterion of ineligibility for community supervision placement.
Satisfying that need, with the capacity to house 230 individuals in 191 male beds and 39 female beds, CCRS serves as an alternative to incarceration for Moderate to High-risk post-conviction felony individuals ordered by the Allen Circuit or Superior Courts, and direct placement as a sanction or alternative to revocation and incarceration. Placements at CCRS may also be used by ACCC as a last stop prior to ordering the individual to the Indiana Department of Correction. Individuals returning to the Allen County community through the Community Transitions Program (CTP) may also be placed at the residential facility when individuals lack suitable housing options required for community supervision.
At CCRS, program participants are subject to 24-hours a day supervision through residential placement, which may include GPS supervision while in the community, individualized case management meetings and case plans guided by the Mark Carey Guides/BITS, individual in-house cognitive behavioral therapy interventions, and a schedule of targeted rehabilitative services assigned based upon the results of the IRAS Risk/Needs Assessment, as well as a myriad of other internal assessments and any other special conditions of placement that have been ordered by the Court. Congruent with operations at ACCC’s day reporting center (DRC), CCRS pursues strict implementation of the Eight Principles of Effective Intervention (NIC) and all known evidence-based practices in corrections that support risk reduction, community safety, and promote participant rehabilitation.
Through this sentencing alternative, CCRS participants are afforded the opportunities to obtain and maintain employment and participate in evidence-based rehabilitative programming and services, while minimizing the risk to the community with strict 24/7 supervision and accountability in a residential setting, and while on GPS Electronic Monitoring, if court-ordered. When appropriate, CCRS participants work toward transitioning from residential placement to Home Detention/GPS Electronic Monitoring as an enhanced incentive model.
In accordance with ACCC’s supervision programs at its DRC, the CCRS program utilizes the IRAS in determining the intensity of services provided and contributing to the development of an individualized Change Plan for the participant. Serving to assist with behavioral change and address barriers that contribute to recidivism (re-offense), the Change Plan is developed based upon the highest criminogenic needs articulated within the IRAS and includes any court-ordered requirements from sentencing. All participants with a Change Plan work toward the completion of a set of time-sensitive goals, developed collaboratively and identified by individuals’ risk and needs. Participants’ change plan goals and objectives are regularly discussed and updated between the participant and their assigned Case Manager.
Because CCRS is located fewer than 6.5 miles north of downtown, and transportation is an issue for several participants, the Residential Services facility is equipped with a caravan to facilitate participants’ connection to community resources, providing transportation to and from approved pass locations and court-ordered and/or CCRS program-required obligations (e.g. BMV, banks, court for court appearances, medical and therapeutic appointments, job searches & interviews, and job-readiness & employment agencies/programs) free of charge.
Case Managers and Clinical/CBT Programs staff strive to facilitate literacy services, increase employability, provide participants with pathways to receive immediate and assessment-driven mental health and substance abuse education and treatment, and implement other targeted CBT-based interventions in attempt to greatly reduce the possibility of recidivating (re-offending) upon release. Case Managers and Program Facilitators, from the Client Services and Clinical/CBT Programs Divisions, respectively, are embedded at the facility to provide immediate case management and client intervention, CBT program(s) enrollment, UDS collection, and incentives and sanctions as appropriate. CCRS staff frequently utilize a variety of tangible incentives to promote and reward prosocial behavior, including snacks, gift cards and gas cards, as well as “vending bucks” for the vending machines. Residential and supervisory services are enhanced with numerous, often incentive-based, pro-social activities such as fishing, basketball, volleyball, cornhole, arts and crafts, chess, checkers, card games, and in-house featured movies. In addition to online support meetings, voluntary religious services are also offered online, as well as on-site, as is a voluntary 33-week long religious-based study group for men that is separate from the weekly religious services offered. Computer resource labs are present in each of the living units for participants to utilize for job searches, and a library cart circulates reading materials throughout the living units.
Communicating with Participants
Need information on how to communicate with Participants on the Residential Services Program? See the links below.
Clinical / CBT Programs & CBT Marketplace Orientation at Residential Services
The Clinical/CBT Programs Division at ACCC’s Residential Services provides Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) programs that aid in the rehabilitation and restructuring processes of referred individuals.
Staff from the Clinical/CBT Programs Division hold a weekly CBT Marketplace Orientation on-site at CCRS, during which participants are scheduled for recommended CBT programming and obtain referral appointments, as needed, with community agencies, upon screening for mental health and substance use concerns.
During the CBT Marketplace Orientation, individuals are screened for mental health and substance use concerns and, when appropriate, referred for a full clinical evaluation. A Park Center representative is present at the CBT Marketplace Orientation to schedule individuals for risk-informed services. Additionally, a representative from ClaimAid, a healthcare services navigation program, is present to help individuals apply for health insurance as is one from the Allen County Health Department to provide education on sexually transmitted infections and free optional testing for Hepatitis C and HIV.
CBT SERVICES WE OFFER
ACCC offers a variety of nonclinical CBT services, and Programs staff, along with Clinical Mental Health staff, facilitate the following Evidence-Based Cognitive Skills/Restructuring curricula at CCRS, described below.
ATV: Alternatives to Violence
- Length: 10 sessions (20 hours)
- Cognitive Restructuring and Social Skills Development
- Gender-Divided
- All Risk levels
Alternatives to Violence (ATV) consists of ten (10) lessons working through four (4) journals that examine Self-Control, Anger, Readiness to Change, and Violence Interventions to improve interpersonal relationships and practice alternatives to violent behaviors. Classes are gender-divided with weekly classes for men and bimonthly classes for women.
FAB: Finance and Budgeting
- Length: 3 sessions (3 hours)
- Cognitive Restructuring
- All Risk levels
Finance and Budgeting sessions utilize a combination of the Taking Charge of My Finances journal from The Change Companies® and internal budgeting forms to provide information and helpful tools and techniques for participants to make responsible financial decisions. Participants are asked to examine their thinking and beliefs about money management, evaluate their current financial situation, and consider positive steps that they can take that will help them take control of their finances now and in the future.
FUN: Fundamentals of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy *
- Length: 6 sessions (12 hours)
- Cognitive Restructuring
- Moderate and High/Very High-Risk only
This program utilizes the Courage to Change System of Cognitive-Behavioral Interactive Journaling® to introduce participants to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) principles. The journals address the dynamic criminogenic domains that often lead clients to criminal behavior. Topics addressed include: Getting Started with Supervision, Social Values, and Self-Control. By personalizing the information presented in the journals to their own circumstances and experiencing success in a shorter class, Moderate, High, and Very High-risk participants are better prepared to complete longer cognitive restructuring and skill-development classes, if determined necessary.
* All CCRS participants referred to the CBT Marketplace Orientation at CCRS for programming are required to attend C2C (Courage to Change) or FUN (Fundamentals of CBT) as a foundational program. Additional classes may be followed upon completion of the C2C and/or FUN program(s) as needed. Participants’ subsequent classes may be determined based on risk level, clinical and/or case management recommendations, and personal interest.
MRT: Moral Reconation Therapy©
- Length: 16 – 20 sessions (32 – 40 hours)
- Cognitive Restructuring
- Moderate and High/Very High-Risk only
The MRT program provides a method designed to promote positive self-image and identity, helps participants learn positive social behaviors and beliefs, and begin to make decisions from higher levels of moral judgment. MRT is widely recognized as an Evidence-Based Practice by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Registry of Evidence-based Programs (NREPP).
T4C: Thinking for a Change (T4C)
- Length: 24 sessions (36 hours)
- Cognitive Restructuring and Social Skills Development
- Moderate and High/Very High-Risk only
T4C can most efficiently be described as a cognitive skills development program. Two-thirds of the program is devoted to the development of skills that participants choose to use in high-stress situations. The premise is that criminal offenders may have never learned the “thinking skills” required to function productively and responsibly in society (Mark Gornick, 2002). The skill deficit is remedied by training in skills, such as problem-solving, negotiation, assertiveness, and anger control. Social skills focus on specific social situations, such as making a complaint or asking for help.
When necessary, participants at CCRS also have the ability to attend CBT programs offered at the DRC, particularly in the Courage to Change (C2C) and Theft Awareness Class (TAC) programs, which are currently not offered at CCRS.
C2C: The Courage to Change Interactive Journaling® *
- Length: 8 sessions (12 hours)
- Cognitive Restructuring
- Low-Risk only
The Courage to Change System is a collaboration between the United States Probation Offices in the Districts of Hawaii and Nevada and The Change Companies®. Through the use of this cognitive behavioral Interactive Journaling® system and approach, participants address their individual problem areas within the “Big Six” criminogenic needs identified by the Administrative Office of Probation and Pre-Trial Services and other secondary needs identified within an assessment process. By personalizing the information presented in the journals to their own circumstances, participants develop a roadmap to success in their efforts to change.
* All CCRS participants referred to the CBT Marketplace Orientation at CCRS for programming are required to attend C2C (Courage to Change) or FUN (Fundamentals of CBT) as a foundational program. Additional classes may be followed upon completion of the C2C and/or FUN program(s) as needed. Participants’ subsequent classes may be determined based on risk level, clinical and/or case management recommendations, and personal interest.
TAC: Theft Awareness Class
- Length: 4 sessions (2 hours/each) or one (1) all-day (8-hour) session
- Cognitive Restructuring
- All Risk levels
This program consists of four (4) two-hour sessions, or one (1) all-day eight-hour session, focusing on cognitive behavioral principles in addressing theft/shoplifting. The course includes making positive choices/decisions, identifying how people, businesses, and the community are affected by shoplifters, and identifying alternatives to this behavior. TAC is an interactive program with group and individual activities.
ACCC also requires a variety of individual assessments as part of CBT Programming at CCRS, as described below.
CBT Programs & Marketplace Orientation Assessments
- Texas Christian University-Criminal Thinking Scales
- The TCU-CTS is administered to all participants engaging in CBT programming at ACCC/CCRS. The assessment is used to measure criminal thinking intervention effectiveness and is given as a pre-test when participants attend the CCRS CBT Marketplace Orientation and again as a post-test when participants finish all of their required CBT programs.
- CBT Class Assessments: Pre and Post Testing
- Class-specific pre-tests and post-tests, focusing on content knowledge and Likert Scale measurement of CBT acquisition, are administered to all participants for the Courage to Change (C2C), Fundamentals of CBT (FUN), Thinking for a Change (T4C), Moral Reconation Therapy© (MRT), Theft Awareness Class (TAC), and Alternatives to Violence (ATV) programs.
- Wide Range Achievement Test: 4th Edition (WRAT4)
- The WRAT4 is utilized during the CBT Marketplace Orientation to gauge reading levels of participants prior to programming. The results are used to determine the appropriateness of programs and schedule participants for classes that will offer them the greatest chances for success.
Additionally, ACCC connects individuals at CCRS, referred to the CBT Marketplace Orientation for programming, with a variety of community-based services, as described below.
COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES
ClaimAid
Participants are offered access to ClaimAid services as part of a weekly CBT Marketplace Orientation. A ClaimAid navigator is present to guide uninsured and underinsured participants through the screening and enrollment process for federal, state, and other health coverage options, like Medicaid and the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP).
Allen County Department of Health
Participants are offered access to free HIV and Hepatitis C screening as part of a weekly CBT Marketplace Orientation. An Allen County Department of Health representative is present to complete testing on-site and results are delivered in-person or via telephone to participants within one (1) business day.
Park Center, Inc.
Participants are provided access to services through Park Center, Inc. through a weekly CBT Marketplace Orientation. A Park Center, Inc. representative is present to schedule an additional, more comprehensive mental health and substance abuse evaluation for those whose scores from the Global Assessment of Needs-Short Screener (GAIN-SS) and/or Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory-4th Edition (SASSI-4) indicate an elevated probability of mental health and substance use disorders. When participants are referred for additional screening, Park Center, Inc. completes an additional assessment and links participants with a variety of inpatient and outpatient services, when appropriate as determined by assessment outcomes, including individual counseling, group counseling, and Medically Assisted Treatment (MAT), to name a few.
LSSI Works
Participants are provided access to services through Lutheran Social Services of Indiana’s Works program. The Works program is a workforce initiative committed to providing participants with personal and professional skills to help them find a career. In addition, Lutheran Social Services provide participants with the opportunity to connect with other community partners within the region. Additional support is provided by LSSI’s case management team that includes individualized services for those experiencing housing crisis, needing assistance with job search, working on family management and parenting skills, and/or goal setting.
