LA SORPRESA DE ANDRÉS

issues are important both in the lead up to and the period following a prisoner’s release from prison.

710. Corrections Victoria’s standards for men and women require that AOD treatment services assist a prisoner’s reintegration by:

• minimising harms associated with substance use upon release

• reducing their risk of relapse upon release

• reducing their risk of reoffending associated with substance use upon release412_.

711. Prisoners are at particular risk of drug overdose after release from prison413_.

Data from the Coroners Court of Victoria indicates that between 2000 and 2010, 120 former prisoners died from drug overdose, an average of one death each month. The former prisoners included in this summary had died:

• within two months of release from prison or

• whilst still in the care of Corrections Victoria following release from prison, for example while on parole414_.

712. An assessment of a prisoner’s AOD issues prior to their release from prison is appropriate in order to determine what treatment and support if any, they need on release415_.

412 Corrections Victoria, Department of Justice, Correctional

Management Standards for Men’s Prisons in Victoria, July 2014

and Department of Justice, Standards for the Management of

Women Prisoners in Victoria, July 2014.

413 Coroners Court of Victoria, Coroners Prevention Unit, Overdose

deaths of people recently released from prison and/or in the care of Corrections Victoria, 2000-2010, Data summary,

October 2013; Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association,

Reducing the harm of prison: Dealing with alcohol and other drugs within the prison system, October 2013.

414 Coroners Court of Victoria, Coroners Prevention Unit, op cit. 415 Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association, submission to

Ombudsman’s investigation into prisoner rehabilitation and reintegration, December 2014.

713. The relationship between AOD and other challenges was noted by Caraniche in its submission:

Many of the problems of social integration experienced by offenders (eg: homelessness, unemployment and isolation from family) are in turn a product of, or exacerbated by, their AOD use416_.

714. In its submission the Victorian Custody Reference Group pointed to the

importance of referring prisoners directly or providing information on how to access AOD rehabilitation and treatment clinics in the community after their release417_.

715. This is reflected in the management standards, which require that prisons provide links to community based AOD programs that can offer ongoing support to prisoners after release back to the community418_.

716. Corrections Victoria provides pre-release AOD harm minimisation education to prisoners through a component of the Corrections Victoria Reintegration Pathway, which is discussed later in this chapter. In addition, some prisoners receive support after release.

717. Other post-release AOD treatment and support is primarily provided through a number of community service organisations. Caraniche noted that the services available to former prisoners are limited, as AOD community services generally do not have the capacity to support high risk clients such as former prisoners. My officers were also told of extensive waiting lists for these services which include:

416 ibid.

417 Victorian Custody Reference Group, Submission to the Victorian

Ombudsman, December 2014.

418 Corrections Victoria, Department of Justice, Correctional

Management Standards for Men’s Prisons in Victoria, July 2014

and Department of Justice, Standards for the Management of

• the Australian Community Support Organisation (ACSO) Community Offender Advice and Treatment Services (COATS) brokerage service coordinates access to AOD counselling through community AOD agencies across Victoria for former prisoners on their release to the community419

• ACSO COATS also delivers the ‘StepOut’ program, which assists prisoners released from prison on straight release (i.e. without parole) to access free and confidential AOD counselling services in the community. 718. In June 2015, ACSO advised my office

that at any one time, it has about 500- 600 clients on the waiting list for AOD treatment in the community, and in the period October 2014 to June 2015, there was an average of 200 former prisoners on the waiting list for their StepOut program. While the average days on the waiting list for StepOut was 14 days, some program areas had significantly greater wait times and waiting lists. For example there was:

• an average wait time of 45 days for the AOD residential rehabilitation program

• an average wait time of 51 days for the Koori Community AOD program • 139 former prisoners on the waiting

list for standard AOD counselling. 719. Through pilot funding from DHHS,

Caraniche has recently developed the High Risk Offenders Alcohol and Drug Service (HiRoads), a specialist forensic AOD service to address the treatment needs of released prisoners with a history of serious violent or sexual offences and a high risk of recidivism and relapse into substance abuse420_.

419 Caraniche, Submission to Ombudsman Discussion Paper, December 2014.

420 Caraniche, High Risk Offenders Alcohol & Drug Service (HiRoads), undated brochure.

720. While there are some AOD support and treatment services available to prisoners post-release, concerns were raised by a number of witnesses about the capacity of these services to meet demand,

coordination between agencies and a lack of throughcare, leaving many released prisoners without support.

721. The Forensic Services Manager at Caraniche described the comprehensive system of AOD programs available in prisons and contrasted this with that available in the community, stating that ‘we’ve got no equivalency in the community at all’.

722. In its submission, Flat Out Inc highlighted the particular shortage of services in regional areas:

There is a dire need for more community based alcohol and drug treatment

services across all regional areas. A lack of suitable treatment services increases the risk of women being re-criminalised and returning to prison.

723. The Managing Director of Caraniche described the current approach to AOD post-release support as ‘siloed and fragmented’ and questioned ‘whose problem is it? Where does it belong?’ The Managing Director stated:

I think we’re all recognising that the transition space in reintegrating people into the community is really important, its pivotal to them actually being able to rebuild their lives, and to cease offending … but there’s just lots of stuff going on and how that all comes together I think and what the experience of the offender is as they navigate their way through those systems and processes and those different, funding models and different focusses, I think is going to be an interesting question. So lots of activity, lots of focus, but in many ways … it still feels quite fragmented, and just quite chopped up.

724. Caraniche advised my officers that best practice is ‘seamless support and care’, yet Victoria has not trialled a ‘proper throughcare model’. It highlighted the need for ‘through the gate’ AOD programs, where programs can start in prison and continue after release supported by intensive case management.