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RISE Peer Recovery reports early jail reentry results, requests county funding match
Summary
RISE Peer Recovery presented data from its first four months inside the DuBois County jail and requested the county consider a 30% match for continuing the program next year.
Vanessa Phillips, director of friends and services for RISE Peer Recovery, told the DuBois County commissioners Aug. 4 that the program has been embedded in the DuBois County Security Center since March 2025 and posted early engagement numbers showing high levels of contact between peers and incarcerated individuals.
Phillips said the program documented 116 participants and 767 one-on-one peer check-ins during the first four months of operation, plus 120 intakes, 103 recovery-planning sessions and 302 care-coordination activities. Staff also reported 46 participants placed into further services through community partners and that 24 discharges had occurred with 20 meeting the program's measure for a "successful" discharge (defined in RISE reporting as positive engagement at 7, 14 and 30 days post-release).
Phillips said the program provides continuity of care, helps people obtain IDs, birth certificates and insurance, supports treatment placements (including recovery residences), and coordinates with probation and pretrial services. She said the program also recently coordinated with the VA for veterans in custody.
Funding ask and next steps: Phillips said the program's expansion will require ongoing local match; she reported a likely 30% county match requirement and provided an illustrative figure of about $107,000 for the county's share if the program structure remains unchanged. She said opioid-settlement dollars and restricted local funds have been used in other counties and suggested a mix of local municipality participation and settlement funds could cover the match.
No formal action was taken Aug. 4; commissioners heard the report and asked staff to continue discussing funding options. Phillips said she would make herself available to answer further questions and invited commissioners to visit the program in the security center.
Ending: Commissioners asked staff to check budget options and noted the request for match funding will be considered during upcoming budget discussions.
