One in every 104 American adults is currently incarcerated.

Of the U.S. prison populations, 64 percent have mental health issues, 66 percent have substance abuse issues and more than 70 percent have both mental health and substance abuse issues.In Carbon County, the daily inmate population averages over 200 and a growing number of that population is comprised of those with mental health issues or addictions.Many of those inmates also are repeat offenders, bouncing in and out of jail, and creating a growing problem in the criminal justice system.On Friday morning, more than 100 representatives from Carbon County agencies, law enforcement, state officials and out-of-county officials gathered at Whispering Pines, Penn Forest Township Fire Company No. 1, for the seventh annual Human Services Priority Breakfast to discuss a strategic plan to cut down on the rate of recidivism in the prison.Commissioner Wayne Nothstein said the re-entry strategic plan — a six-month project — is a fluid document that will be changing as programs are identified and tried to help inmates reintegrate back into society.Carbon County determined that something had to be doneafter the county Criminal Justice Advisory Board identified that over 50 percent of those going through the legal system are repeat offenders.“It was quite obvious that what we were doing was not working,” Nothstein said.“With the mental health issues and drug problems, our inmate population rose and criminal caseloads increased, burdening our court system. This year as of March 14, our criminal caseload was at 46 percent above last year. This tells us how serious the problems are.”He said the county has hired a full-time detective to handle drug and alcohol cases, is working with mental health and drug and alcohol commissions to provide inmate services and is looking to see if any funding is available for new programs.‘Can’t do it alone’But, Nothstein said, the most important part of the re-entry strategic plan that is being shaped, is collaboration between the county, the court system, law enforcement and area agencies.“For this program to be a success it has to be a public and private partnership,” he said. “The county and you as individuals cannot do it alone. We must do it together. It’s like a giant puzzle with a population of 60,000-plus pieces. Each person is a part of that puzzle and we have to work together.Carbon County Sheriff Tony Harvilla,who was a driving force in securing a grant to investigate a re-entry program for Carbon, outlined the plan, its roadblocks and the goals.“Last year, in Carbon County, we had 1,212 inmates released from the facility,” he said. “Without proper reintegration into the community many of these returning citizens will return to the lifestyle they had prior to incarceration.”Former inmates returning into society face a number of roadblocks because a lack of a network in place, including housing issues, addiction and mental health treatment, family issues, unemployment and financial stress.They also facelaws that restrict them from housing, employment options, parental rights, access to governmental benefits, education, voting and more.Harvilla said the re-entry program aims to help combat those challenges through a collaborative network of services that start while the person is still incarcerated and continues after the person is released.Right now, Carbon County faces barriers including disconnected services, difficulty accessing services for these individuals and a high failure rate in helping these people rejoin society after incarceration.The next stepMoving forward, the plan hopes to have agencies work together to provide a seamless network of services from counseling to job training, as well as housing options.This, Harvilla said, will help stop the cycle of repeat offenders, create a safer community, reduce the prison population and the number of repeat offenders going into the legal system, save taxpayer dollars and provide people with education, treatment, employment and other help to remain crime free.Carbon County Warden Timothy Fritz said that on the prison level, the county has been working to improve data collection of the prison population, changing policies, reducing a lapse in treatment after incarceration by working with medical professionals to provide leaving inmates with medication and treatment options and providing a drug and alcohol counselor.The coalition has also created a resource guide filled with phone numbers of various agencies and services in Carbon County.Anita Wisler of Weissport, a resident who wants to help better the community, said she was happy to see a plan to help those incarcerated.“We’re not going to quit,” she said. “We have to be the pieces to the puzzle. It’s in our backyard and we got to get the pieces together to take one big chunk out of this thing. We can master this.”She said a Celebrate Recovery program at Blue Mountain Community Church, helps those facing addictions, and she would love to see it started in the prison.Officials said they will continue to work on the plan and will be implementing programs in the future.