Host Karen James visited the Clackamas County Transition Center on Kaen Road in Oregon City, to speak with Brian Imdieke, manager of Community Corrections, Eric Anderson, supervisor of the Center, and clients currently being served by the Center. The Transition Center is the first facility of its kind in Oregon, and a step toward reducing jail population and recidivism. The Transition Center opened in February 2016 and is an all-in-one location providing crucial services to people leaving jail or prison and to those at risk of returning. Its goal is to break patterns and change lives. Clients can walk out of the Clackamas County jail upon release, cross the parking lot, and enter the Transition Center to get access to services including:
- Employment and housing assistance
- Peer mentors
- Cognitive therapy
- Mental-health and substance-abuse assessments
- On-site health care (provider on-site 4 hours/week)
- Bi-monthly health-care enrollment
- Basic needs
- Hygiene items
- GED courses through Clackamas Community College
- Parenting classes through Northwest Family Services
Transition Center Probation Officers also conduct "reach-ins" at the Clackamas County Jail and local prisons -- completing risk assessments, developing release plans and beginning the referral process for clients before they're released.
- KBOO