# Developing Racially Equitable post-release  supervision Assignment guidelines to prevent overdose and suicide Mortality among formerly incarcerated people (DREAM)

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2024 · $41,253

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
 Formerly incarcerated people are highly vulnerable to drug overdose and suicide deaths upon release from
incarceration, yet there are few interventions to address these concerns. Existing programs in the criminal legal
system, such as post-release supervision (PRS), can be improved to help acclimate individuals to life back in
the community. While PRS helps individuals reintegrate into the community, it also significantly increases their
risk of reincarceration. Moreover, systematic and individual racism in the criminal legal system has led to
overrepresentation of racially minoritized people in prison and among individuals receiving PRS. Augmenting
the length of the PRS sentence can allow optimization of PRS’s benefits to harms. My study proposes a way to
reduce suicide and overdose mortality risk among the formerly incarcerated by providing evidence-based
recommendations to modify existing PRS policies.
 The objectives of this proposal are to (1) determine and understand predictors of post-release supervision
(PRS) assignment length, (2) establish how to optimize NC’s existing PRS program to reduce suicide and
overdose mortality among formerly incarcerated people through altering their the PRS assignment length, and
(3) identify optimal PRS terms that minimize the difference in risk of suicide and overdose mortality and
reincarceration rates between white and racially minoritized groups, without increasing rates for any racialized
group. To accomplish these aims, I will apply advanced causal inference methods to a linked dataset
containing administrative and death records for all persons released from prison between January 1, 2000 and
December 31, 2021. The completion of the proposed aims will significantly advance our understanding of
interventions aimed at reducing post-release mortality, as well as provide an evidence-base for future PRS
policy to reduce racialized disparities in not only PRS sentencing but also post-release suicide and overdose
mortality outcomes among formerly incarcerated people.
 The training plan outlined in this proposal will equip the applicant, Monica Swilley-Martinez, with critical
knowledge on the intersection of criminal legal system involvement and racialized health disparities, necessary
skills in advanced epidemiologic methods and social and injury epidemiology, and experience with longitudinal
analysis using large population-based administrative data. This plan will prepare her to successfully complete
the proposed aims and to progress into a role as an independent, interdisciplinary epidemiologist working at
the intersection of criminal legal system involvement and racialized disparities in the US. The applicant is
incredibly well supported by an interdisciplinary group of epidemiologists and health disparities researchers,
with the requisite expertise to support her doctoral research and prepare her for the next phase of her career.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11065954
- **Project number:** 1F31MD020240-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Monica E Swilley-Martinez
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $41,253
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-12-01 → 2025-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11065954

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11065954, Developing Racially Equitable post-release  supervision Assignment guidelines to prevent overdose and suicide Mortality among formerly incarcerated people (DREAM) (1F31MD020240-01). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/11065954. Licensed CC0.

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