Rhode
Island's Jail Diversion and Trauma Recovery Program (RIJDTRP) will be a comprehensive approach to creating a trauma-informed criminal justice system that identifies and diverts adults with trauma histories/PTSD,
prioritizing veterans, from the criminal justice system and into treatment that is trauma-informed and/or trauma-specific. RIJDTRP will be governed by a State Advisory Committee. It will be piloted in Kent County, RI,
which was selected because of the strength of its trauma informed system of care and the commitment of its community behavioral healthcare center, The Kent Center. The project will be expanded to an additional site, and
ultimately expanded state-wide. It will also build the necessary infrastructure to fill gaps in the system of care and meet the program's goals, which are:
Goal 1.A: Transformation of the existing criminal justice system into a trauma-informed criminal justice system;
Goal 1.B: Transformation of the existing behavioral healthcare system into
a trauma-informed behavioral healthcare system.
Goal 2: Improve the State's understanding of the number of veterans and individuals with trauma histories who come in contact with the criminal justice
system.
Goal 3: Decrease the criminalization of persons with trauma related disorders.
Goal 4: Improve access to trauma services for veterans/individuals with trauma histories.
Goal 5: Promote recovery from behavioral health problems and improve the quality of life of individuals and families who are faced with trauma-related issues.
Goal 6: Reduce criminal justice recidivism by promoting recovery.
Goal 7: Implement and maintain a statewide criminal justice diversion program for persons with trauma-related issues.
Strategies and interventions of RIJDTRP include a court clinician focusing on PTSD and other trauma issues; trauma-specific services such as TAMAR (Trauma, Addiction, Mental Health, and Recovery), a
promising practice that is promoted by National Center on Trauma Informed Care; and other trauma-informed services, including mental health and substance abuse counseling, case management/benefits assistance, and
referrals to services such as family support. Training of criminal justice personnel, including police, probation and parole officers, and the judiciary, as well as service provider staff, in trauma, trauma-informed
care, and TAMAR is a vital element of this project.
RIJDTRP projects to serve 565 people (unduplicated number), including the population of focus and people trained, in year one, and 3,425 people over the
entire project period. This includes people served and trained at the pilot site and at the expansion site in years four and five.
