CENTERFORCE – GET CONNECTED (CA)

Program Description
Centerforce, a nonprofit organization created in 1975, provides services to inmates and their families at various county jails, state prisons, and federal correctional facilities throughout Northern and Central California. Current efforts include prevention case management, literacy, family support services, health education, parenting, health and wellness services; policy, research, and training consultation; and educational material development. Centerforce has over 20 employees in offices in Northern and Central California and at San Quentin State Prison.

Centerforce leads a multi-service demonstration project focused on health issues called Get Connected for inmates and their families at San Quentin Prison and the Central California Women’s Facility. Get Connected provides the following services:

1) Peer Education: Staff provide 30 hours of health and skill-building training to inmates who are interested in becoming peer health educators. Trained inmate health educators lead daily health education workshops for new inmates.

2) Re-Entry Education: Centerforce staff, inmate peer educators, and community service providers conduct workshops on various health topics for inmates preparing for release.

3) Prevention Case Management: Centerforce staff provide five months of intensive case management services to returning prisoners, which includes development of an individual risk assessment and reduction action plan prior to release, and post-release support through facilitated referrals to community-based service providers.

4) Health Promotion Initiative: Community health specialists provide workshops and resource fairs for inmates living with HIV and/or hepatitis C as they prepare for release.

Program Goals
The mission of Centerforce is to “strengthen individuals and families affected by incarceration through a comprehensive system of education and support.” Get Connected aims to have trained inmate peer educators deliver orientations for all incoming prisoners and to provide prevention case management for all pre-release inmates around HIV, hepatitis, and STD prevention and education.

Networking, Partnering & Collaboration
Centerforce works with a number of government agencies including the California Department of Corrections to gain access to prisons and community service providers for referrals and coordination of services.

Outcomes
Centerforce staff are involved in a number of research projects testing the effectiveness of their interventions and adding to the general knowledge base on the health status of correctional populations. (See the list of published articles below.) One evaluation of its peer HIV education program for male inmates found that program participants were more likely to use condoms and be tested for HIV than nonparticipants. They also found a significant difference between the intervention group and non-intervention group in their perception of risk of contracting HIV.

Additional Reading

• Olga Grinstead, Bonnie Faigeles, and Barry Zack. 1997. “The Effectiveness of Peer HIV Education for Male Inmates Entering State Prison.” Journal of Health Education 28 (6): 31-37.
  
• Olga Grinstead, Barry Zack, Bonnie Faigeles, Nina Grossman, and Leroy Blea. 1999. “Reducing Post-Release HIV Risk Among Male Prison Inmates: A Peer Led Intervention.” Criminal Justice and Behavior 26 (4): 453-465.
  
• Olga Grinstead, Barry Zack, Bonnie Faigeles. 1999. “Collaborative Research to Prevent HIV Among Male Prison Inmates and Their Female Partners.” Health Education & Behavior 26 (2): 225-238.

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