Robert Conner conducts an intake interview with an inmate on Monday at the Clark County Jail in Jeffersonville. Photo by Andrew Harp | News and Tribune
JEFFERSONVILLE — Jeffersonville native John Benningfield grew up in the Clark County Jail. Between ages 18 and 36, Benningfield was in and out of the jail for drug-related crimes. Now, he’s working within a relatively new program in the jail to help those inside so they’re prepared before they leave to hopefully live a life with a more positive purpose.
Benningfield is the project coordinator and supervisor for the Integrated Reentry and Correctional Support program at the jail which is facilitated through Thrive Recovery Community Organization.
Also called Rethink Reentry, IRACS is a state program created by Indiana Forensic Services.
Executive Director Phil Stucky said the concept of the program is that reentry begins on the first day of incarceration.
“How do we help with the mindset on day one?” Stucky said.
Clark County Sheriff Scottie Maples said he remembers talking with Stucky while he was still a chief deputy about possibly implementing the program if he became sheriff. Before becoming a police officer, Maples worked in the jail.
“I understand the nature of the jail, and programs are very, very important inside the jail,” Maples said.
Stucky said, along with the sheriff’s department, that they have partnerships with judges, prosecutors, public defenders and probation officers.
In 2019, Benningfield got sober and began doing outreach work with the Jeffersonville Police Department, and his work began at Thrive at the Scott County Jail. In July of last year, he started working at the Clark County Jail.
While he was in jail, the services that are provided today to those who are incarcerated were nonexistent, and that while in jail, people would make more connections, learning how to be a better criminal once they leave.
“I walked out of there many, many times, I had nothing, nowhere to go. ... I burned all my bridges,” he said.
The sheriff’s department had Benningfield conduct six months of work before the IRACS program could be fully implemented, which began in January. Eight fulltime individuals currently work this program in the Clark County Jail.
Forensic peers meet with inmates usually within 72 hours of their incarceration if they consent. They then conduct intake interviews where basic information is collected and a recovery plan is created.
This recovery plan points to what the inmate wants to do, where they want to go and what they can do to get there.
Benningfield said that even when an inmate refuses the initial intake, they begin to see the work they do with other inmates in the jail, prompting them to reconsider doing the intake.
After the intakes are finished, those participating can then be a part of a few different group classes.
Peers also then meet with the inmates one-on-one at least once a month depending on the need of the person.
A navigator is also part of the project and they help people with documents and other services like birth certificates, social security cards, sober living and insurance.
A staff member will also specifically follows recently released inmates for 30 days to ensure they’re on the right track.
There’s also a judicial peer that follows participating inmates around the court system to advocate for those facing criminal charges to try and get them into treatment instead of a long jail sentence, although Benningfield said those in the program are still held accountable for their crimes.
The only inmates that the staff doesn’t work with are those charged with particularly violent crimes or people who are not capable of typical communication due to mental health issues.
Stucky said the national average for recidivism was 48% between 2019 and 2022. Indiana is at 36% during that same time period, and Scott County was at 26%.
After two years of the IRACS program running at the Scott County Jail, Stucky said recidivism is down to 9.5%.
Before this, Stucky said the likelihood of someone with a substance use disorder in the jail who gets released would be 119 times more likely to use drugs again within the first two weeks.
Maples said deciding to at least start the program on a trial basis was not an easy decision. He said he monitors the staff often when they’re in the jail, and they’re required to wear bright blue clothing so that they’re easily identifiable.
However, Maples said that the IRACS staff has been effective and professional, and has not had any problems come up.
According to data provided by Maples on Monday, he said the staff has done 1,476 intake interviews, and have helped 200 people get into treatment or recovery. He said they have 332 active participants in the program out of 455 total inmates.
“It’s hard to get inmates to participate in programming sometimes,” Maples said, and that the rate at which the amount of inmates that are participating is relatively high.
Maples said they discussed renewing the six month agreement for another six months, which he intends on signing if he has no problems in the agreement.
Benningfield said the definition of recovery for them is any positive change. Ultimately, the true goal of the program is to instill a sense of positive purpose for these inmates. The means and resources to start and continue recovery are provided, but that can’t be enacted if the person does not have that sense of purpose in their life.
“You get in there and you get depressed and you’re thinking, ‘This is it. This is what my life is gonna be like,’” he said.
He said if they can continue to keep a person alive until that change in purpose happens, then that’s what they’ll do.
He said he hopes his experience can be an inspiration for those in the jail who feel they can’t change their life. Stucky said they hope to expand the program in the future.
“The antidote to addiction isn’t sobriety. It’s connection,” Stucky said.
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