Forensicare receives new funding to expand the Community Integration Program

This program will soon be available at Port Phillip Prison

What’s happening?

Forensicare has received new funding to expand the Community Integration Program – which means we can soon offer this program to people in Port Phillip Prison.

This funding is part of a Victorian Government’s $59.7 million funding package for clinical mental health services to meet the surge in demand resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and to accelerate work on the critical recommendations from the Royal Commissions into Victoria’s Mental Health System.

The Community Integration Program

The Community Integration Program provides short term pre-and post-release support to prisoners with mental illness who are being released into the community, with working with the prison-based primary mental health service to connect them with ongoing mental health treatment.

The program currently has four senior clinicians providing care to patients of the program at Melbourne Assessment Prison, Metropolitan Remand Centre, Dame Phyllis Frost Centre and Ravenhall Correctional Centre.

Expanding the program

This new funding enables us to hire an additional two clinicians for 12 months to expand the program, including to Port Phillip Prison. This will increase the capacity of the program – allowing us to reach more patients. Importantly, it will also allow for better continuation of care, as men transferred to Port Phillip Prison previously needed to be discharged from the program. Men within St Paul’s unit, or receiving outpatient psychiatric care within the prison can now access the program too.

Improving engagement with other services

The Community Integration Program currently works alongside a range of other pre- and post-release services including the Australian Communication Support Organisation (ACSO), VACRO, GEO Nexus program, GEO Bridge Centre, Muslim Connect and the Court Integrated Services Program. This funding will also be used to provide consultation and information to these services to increase their knowledge and ability to work with prisoners with mental illness in their transition from prison to the community.

More information

For more information please see the Community Integration Program brochure.

Please contact CIP@forensicare.vic.gov.au to:

• make a referral
• request secondary consultation regarding prisoners/patients with mental illness in their transition from prison to the community.
• to arrange an information session with your team on topics related to patients with complex and enduring mental health conditions and managing this cohort’s transition back into the community.