| Alaska Villages Want To Lead Reentry Efforts
In rural Alaskan villages, the problem of ex-offenders returning to their homes without proper assistance is not going to go away, warns a grassroots group, and sooner or later the citizens should be able to help their own.
Alaska Natives constitute 19 percent of the general state population but more than 46 percent of all arrests and incarcerations statewide. According to a 2003 Alaska Department of Corrections (DOC) prisoner profile, approximately 40 percent of DOC prisoners are Alaska Natives, many of whom are incarcerated for alcohol- and/or drug-related crimes and who have co-occurring mental health problems.
Consistent transition planning for incarcerated Alaska Natives throughout the Alaska DOC system is lacking, according to Rose Domnick, a former corrections officer turned advocate for ex-offenders. Domnick feels that the state has not been paying enough attention to the problem, so she and several others formed the Alaska Native Offender Transitional Task Force in February 2004.
The main goal of the task force—which is made up of various tribal health organizations, the Alaska DOC, social service agencies, and individuals representing the substance abuse and treatment field—is to develop a statewide referral and case management system to address the needs of Alaska Native ex-offenders. The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), which works with regional health organizations, provides in-kind support for the task force, and Domnick is talking with ANTHC about creating a liaison position. Domnick also is looking into the possibility of working with Weed and Seed.
The task force realizes that offenders need financial support for housing, employment, and health care needs; counseling services; and other needs that affect the offenders' relationships with family, friends, and their communities.
Another major obstacle to helping ex-offenders, Domnick explains, is that whatever services are available are often in urban areas far from the offenders' homes. Rural villages are spread out over 12 regions, and anywhere from 100 to 1,000 people live in each village. Most are like outposts with no roads, and the only way to reach them is by small plane.
In addition, available services usually do not include cultural traditions that can be an important part of a person's rehabilitation. Different villages have different languages, and villages work to maintain their independence. State and federal agents generally lack an understanding of what culturally relevant language to use in policies and regulations and which culturally appropriate treatment, services, or responses should be used, she said.
The task force does not want experts to go out to the villages but instead is pushing for real policy changes so the state would certify village counselors. "If an offender returns to a village and there's an elder counselor, then that individual should be recognized," Domnick said. "Otherwise these people won't receive anything and the behavior won't change."
People in the village not only have a vested interest in working with the offenders and their families because of personal relationships, Domnick explained, but fellow villagers can overcome many barriers—whether they are related to language, culture, or beliefs—that outsiders simply cannot.
Domnick told a story about an ex-offender who returned to his village with substance abuse problems that no one had been able to resolve. She and other counselors discussed with him the American Indian belief and value systems taught by the elders, showing him that he was being disrespectful of those very systems. The returning offender said he never considered his behavior in that light and has since stopped his substance abuse. "No highly paid certified counselor could reach him like we could," Domnick said.
Domnick wants the state to pay for the services that ex-offenders require, but she emphasizes that locals must be in charge to find ways to incorporate the Alaska Native elements of language, ways of life, cultural traditions, elder knowledge, and wisdom into treatment. "Things are not going to change unless we deal with our own issues," she said.
Domnick hopes to have a demonstration project ready for 2006.
For more information, contact:
Rose Domnick
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