Correctional settings and the point of transition to the community are critical opportunities for prevention and treatment interventions. With the assistance of Cross-Training, providers are better able to take advantage of every teachable moment and apply every available resource. Some Cross-Training strategies include:

• Health education and support to cross-train criminal justice- and community-based staff, as well as inmates and their families both during incarceration and after release.
• Building transitional bridges for referral and communication between correctional systems and community service providers (e.g., case managers).
• Cross-Training different combinations of cross-discipline staff groups (e.g., case managers, medical and nursing staff, intake and discharge planners, correctional security officers, public health departments, jail probation and parole staff, Ryan White program staff, mental health and counseling staff, peer educators, adult and juvenile correctional staff, faith-based and community-based organizations).
• Visiting each others’ programs, co-locating services, and forming interagency agreements to team services for supporting returning inmates and their families.
• Cross-Training to provide coaching in starting the dialogue, building connections, and forming and sustaining strong formal interagency agreements to ensure that all infected and substance abuse-affected incarcerated individuals have the opportunity to access a wide range of services.

The collaboration among criminal justice, substance abuse, mental health, and infectious disease systems (among others) results in a greater continuum of care for clients. It also serves to improve health outcomes for inmates, thus promoting better health outcomes for the larger community. And collaboration also leads to enhanced access to services assisting families, prisoners, and ex-prisoners with the immediate and long-term effects of incarceration.