SUSTAINABILITY

Developments at the State level following the conclusion of Federal funding for the CDP have been overwhelmingly positive with regard to integrating lessons learned from the project into existing activities.

In California, the State recognized the value of having an organization dedicated to continuity-of-care (CoC) planning and case management for releasees living with HIV. Centerforce, the prison-based provider for the CDP, has been awarded a contract to provide postrelease services for the parolees in the State system.

Florida has increased the number of postrelease planners in its State prison system to provide CoC services for releasees. Through general revenue funds, Florida also has expanded the number of county jails offering the CoC approach developed by the Jacksonville/Duval County Jail for PLWHA who pass through the system.

Georgia has developed a program for Department of Corrections (DOC) inmates that is modeled after the Florida program, even though Georgia’s CDP did not involve the State DOC.

Illinois passed legislation that would develop a statewide CoC program modeled after the Chicago CDP program.

Massachusetts is working to integrate CDP approaches into its new statewide prisoner reentry program.

On the basis of their CDP activities, both New Jersey and New York continue to develop and strengthen the HIV-related services integrated into their State DOC programs.

Four of the CDP service providers have been selected by CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention to receive funding to provide services to inmate and reentering populations in their States. Rapid HIV testing approaches, pioneered by CDP jail-based programs, have been expanded to other jails and prisons throughout the Nation to determine whether they can be used in other jurisdictions.

The central role of jails in the recognition of infectious diseases in the community, in health education, and in linkages to treatment for vulnerable populations has begun to be integrated into the CDC’s thinking about HIV, STIs, hepatitis, and other preventable and treatable diseases. This thought process is vital to determining the role of jails in the screening for and treatment of STIs and examining how the prevalence of those diseases in detainees may mirror the prevalence in the communities where they lived prior to their incarceration.

Finally, the impact of the lessons learned from the CDP continues to unfold at local, State, and national levels. As data from this project are disseminated through CDC’s final reports and State and local publications, the lessons may continue to affect not only the States involved but also the wider corrections and public health communities.