Release Advance Planning

Photo: Staci McGuire of the Release Advance Planning team meets with other group members to discuss inmates' needs and release plans. 

The Release Advance Planning (RAP) program provides Sherburne County inmates with resources to meet their individual needs once they are released from the county jail.

A multi-disciplinary team meets with inmates, designs a plan and monitors the inmates after their release to optimize their success within the community.

The goal of the voluntary program is to improve public safety and reduce recidivism by preparing inmates with successful reintegration into the community. It reduces jail dependency, promotes self-sufficiency and community livability by increasing the amount of involvement of citizens working in partnership with criminal justice agencies.

How it works

To be eligible, the inmate must be a Sherburne County resident incarcerated in the Sherburne County Jail with an established release date and a minimum of 14 days left on their sentence.

Non-Sherburne County residents and pre-trial clients will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

An eligibility screening and intake assessment provides details about criminal history, housing and family status, mental and physical health conditions, any chemical dependency issues, financial/employment/education background and support system needs.

The eligible inmate meets with the RAP team, where each team member can present the resources they have to support the inmate. RAP members come from several county departments and other public and private companies and agencies.

A plan is created to address the inmate’s needs, signed off by a RAP team member and the inmate.

A RAP coordinator follows up with the inmate 14, 30, 60 and 90 days after their release and tracks progress and ongoing needs. After 90 days, the inmate is given a discharge status -- either successful, unsuccessful or terminated.

Successful: A client who has met at least 50% of their needs within three months and has also remained out of Sherburne County custody for a minimum of 90 days.

Unsuccessful: A client who has re-offended, violated probation and/or has not successfully reached 50% of their needs.

Terminated: A client may either be self-terminated or program terminated.

Jail bed savings

There have been 87 program inmates who were released from jail between October 2014 and October 2017. Of those, 73 were discharged with a status of successful. Only 14 received a discharge status of unsuccessful.

The number of days those inmates spent incarcerated after completing the RAP program was reduced by 65% in 18 months following their release

At $100.33 a day per inmate, that resulted in a savings of $571,780 to the county for costs the county would have had to pay to house the inmates in jail.

What they're saying

“I find it very helpful that RAP gives clients a checklist of tasks before they are released from jail. One of my offenders needed to complete a psychological evaluation, a chemical dependency evaluation and enter a domestic abuse class as part of his probation. It was wonderful to have those appointments scheduled for him prior to his release and he has no excuse not to follow through. This particular offender has been in jail on a probation violation and previously not complied with ANY of those conditions of maintained in contact. Since he was released after attending RAP, he has completed all of the tasks on his list and secured full-time employment.” – Shannon Marks, MN Department of Corrections

“The RAP program has been beneficial to my clients who are currently in custody. I have received positive feedback in regards to the prompt response and assistance in their requests. It has been helpful to have this resource in the jail.” – Jordan Krogstad, Public Defender

“From my perspective RAP is an excellent program. So often, it appears that inmates have chemical issues those issues have contributed to their incarceration. Getting chemical health addressed while in jail is definitely in everyone’s best interest.” – Mary Albert, Riverplace Counseling Center