Recovery Works Expansion To Allow Hoosiers With Misdemeanors to Receive Treatment Services

Recovery Works provide access to the necessary treatment at an approved treatment provider.

(Indianapolis, Ind.) - The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s Division of Mental Health and Addiction today announced that its Recovery Works program will expand to serve Hoosiers charged with or convicted of misdemeanor offenders.

Recovery Works was established in 2015 as a voucher-based system to support partnerships between the criminal justice system and mental health and addiction treatment providers to reduce recidivism and encourage recovery. To date, the program has only been available to someone facing a felony charge or with a prior felony conviction. Recovery Works has now developed a pilot program targeting the needs of individuals charged with a misdemeanor crime to help address the gap in mental health and substance use treatment resources for this specific group and to provide access to the necessary treatment at an approved treatment provider.

“Recovery Works is a model program: collaborative, evidence-based, and driven by data and outcomes, said Jay Chaudhary, J.D., DMHA director. “We are thrilled for this opportunity to expand crucial services to the misdemeanant population and are confident that the outcomes will be equally positive.”

Twenty treatment providers and recovery residences serving 26 Indiana counties were selected for the pilot, through an application process. DMHA and its Recovery Works team hope the pilot program will provide the data and insight needed to expand the entire program to include people with misdemeanor charges statewide.

“This pilot program is critical in reducing the disproportionate number of persons with mental health and substance use disorders that are entering our justice-involved settings,” said Douglas Huntsinger, Indiana Executive Director for Drug Prevention, Treatment, and Enforcement. “Recovery Works is one way we’re trying to address this societal issue. The hope is that by increasing access to treatment and wraparound services, we’re able to reduce recidivism and future involvement in the justice system, while also helping a person sustain their recovery.”

Locally, LifeSpring Health will be participating in serving the counties of Clark, Crawford, Dubois, Floyd, Harrison, Jefferson, Orange, Perry, Scott, Spencer, Washington