Barriers and facilitators to the use of the SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) model with justice-involved adults.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to identify barriers and facilitators to use of the SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) model with justice-involved adults.

METHOD: Using a modified snowball sampling strategy, we distributed an online mixed-methods survey to SOAR providers with known criminal justice collaborations. Participants were 58 providers who completed or supervised completion of SOAR applications for justice-involved adults and who represented unique agencies across 29 states. Content analysis identified conceptual categories in qualitative data. Descriptive statistics were produced for all study variables.

RESULTS

Although most agencies currently completed applications for justice-involved adults (n = 50, 86.2%), few reported collaborations with justice agencies (n = 19, 32.8%). Commonly cited barriers to successful applications included gaps in care for justice-involved populations and incomplete or unavailable medical records. Facilitators included strong leadership, agency communication and relationship building, and access to medical-especially psychiatric-staff. Most participants rated the SOAR model as successful in facilitating benefits access (n = 37 of 57, 64.9%).

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Despite obstacles to serving this high-risk population, practitioners have developed strategies to facilitate use of the SOAR model with justice-involved adults. These strategies offer promise for the implementation of SOAR in other criminal justice settings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).