Recognizing Perspectives on Community Reentry From Offenders With Mental Illness: Using the Afrocentric Framework and Concept Mapping with Adult Detainees

By using concept mapping techniques and incorporating the Afrocentric framework, the study demonstrated that people with mental illnesses, when asked and provided the means to participate, can engage in meaningful identification of their needs, service conceptualization and prioritization. They provided 13 service area needs that included 104 indicators of their success when returning to the community. The identification of these indicators of success is helpful to program developers so that they can address the challenges of the consumer and move offenders with mental illness toward independent living. Implications of the findings for social workers and public health professionals working in the corrections field were explored and discussed.