Cuyahoga County is creating a re-entry program for people leaving jail

For years, Cuyahoga County has given people little help before releasing them from one of Ohio’s worst jails.

That will end next month.

A revamped re-entry program to help people as they leave prison is being finalized by Cuyahoga County Sheriff Harold Pretel and other top leaders. The program will connect people with basic needs, including housing, jobs, health care and other services.

The change comes a year later The Marshall – Cleveland Project detailed how the sheriff’s department did not provide reentry assistance to the men and women before they left the jail.

“This is a step in the right direction,” said Evan O’Reilly, a spokesman for the Cuyahoga County Jail Coalition, a group that advocates for change in the county’s justice system.

“Letting people go free without assistance is not good.”

The movement for improved reentry services has spread across the state since Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy formed Ohio Supreme Court Reentry Task Force in April 2023.

In September, the task force released a 140-page document report with more than a dozen recommendations, concplaying that “re-entry programs are critical to helping returning citizens become productive members of society.”

Counties like Lorain and Franklin — which includes the state capital of Columbus — have reentry offices designed to connect people with key service providers, including health care, transportation and housing. Assistance is provided before a person is released.

Ohio sheriffs have offered re-entry services for years, and many advocates believe such programs help reduce the likelihood of recidivism.

The Cuyahoga County jail, one of the largest in the state, housing about 1,600 people each day, has been gridlocked for years with numerous deaths and reports of inhumane conditions at the decrepit facility.

News 5 chronicled the problems of “abuse, suicides, lawsuits, accidental releases and driving problems” over the years.

Pretel, who has been sheriff for about 18 months, said the department’s responsibility extends beyond public safety.

“We must also prepare the people in our custody for a successful return to their communities by helping them become better neighbors and family members,” Pretel said in a statement.

“By working closely with the Office of Reentry, our new (reentry) program will give people the tools and resources to rebuild their lives and find stable employment, secure affordable housing and access other essential services .”

After reading The Marshall Project – Cleveland article, Pretel said he and other top lawmakers visited numerous prisons in Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee to learn about how the facilities provide reentry services.

The county plans to build a new jail in Garfield Heights, and Pretel and other top officials said reentry services will be built into the facility’s design to ensure the program’s permanence.

Cuyahoga County has no jail reentry workers, but operates a Reentry Office located on Fulton Parkway — about six miles from the jail in downtown Cleveland.

The office does not conduct outreach and does not meet directly with people leaving prison. It acts as a source of funding for community groups, which provide help to people leaving prison.

Two of the office’s eight employees are being trained by the state to work as “reentry resource navigators” through the end of December, said Simeon Best, director of the Office of Reentry.

Initially, prison reentry services will focus on two groups: people nearing the end of their sentences and those who frequently cycle through the prison doors, Best said. They will also focus on connecting military veterans to services.

Tours of other jails have helped inform Cuyahoga County about how it approaches re-entry services, Best said. Officials have learned that each person has a different need for reentry, he said.

“Some people won’t even want help,” Best said. “This is not as simple as 1, 2, 3. It will take a lot of time and effort.”

Laurel Diaz, the county’s health justice and equity officer, said the jail houses hundreds of repeat offenders.

About 300 people have been arrested at the jail at least eight times each in the past three years, she said. These individuals have a higher percentage of substance abuse and mental health disorders, Diaz said.

“Together, our goal is to break the cycle of recidivism, create pathways to success and address the root problems that often lead to re-incarceration,” Pretel’s statement said.

With an absence of re-entry services, the Cuyahoga County Public Defender’s Office worked to fill the void by collecting donations to provide basic needs such as hygiene products and clothing.

The office also printed flyers with information about housing, mental health, substance abuse and other resources for anyone who comes through the jail release office. Two other groups now distribute bus passes and Narcan kits to help prevent overdose deaths.

Ashley Stebbins, the county’s chief deputy public defender, said there has long been a gap in providing re-entry services for those experiencing basic needs.

“Hopefully we can work with them as they go into effect over the next few weeks and months,” Stebbins said.