In Massachusetts, the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office (MSO) and Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian are preparing to launch the Older Adult Reentry (OAR) unit, a specialized housing unit focused on the specific reentry needs of incarcerated individuals over the age of 55. The MSO embarked on two years of intensive planning and research with academic partners from Boston University and the University of Massachusetts--Boston in preparation for this unit and also worked with the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) to conduct a national scan of different housing models for older adults experiencing incarceration. The result is a unit with intentional designs around the physical plant, programmatic offerings, and staff training that promises to build on the MSO’s rich background in providing programming for incarcerated individuals.
