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| Bumpy road for community treatment programs |
| By Sarah Etter, News Reporter |
| Published: 04/16/2007 |
The National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Drug Abuse recently released the National Criminal Justice Treatment Practices survey, which found that offender substance abuse treatment was lacking in state and local agencies.“We tackled this issue because there is a need to survey the criminal justice system, particularly corrections agencies, to get a sense of the nature and type of services offered,” says NIDA surveyor Dr. Faye Taxman. “Without good baseline data on what programs are out there, it's difficult to think about how to achieve a national strategy of using treatment as a tool for lowering recidivism.” This report is the first in a NIDA series dedicated to examining drug abuse and incarceration. According to the findings, only 10 percent of all drug offenders receive adequate drug treatment in prisons, jails, juvenile facilities and probation and parole settings. The census also included residential and country treatment programs to create a snapshot of substance abuse management in the United States. “We offer more services in prison settings than in community corrections settings and jails,” Taxman says. “That surprised all of us. This lack of treatment has significant negative implications for re-entry. It also means it is even harder for those under correctional control in the community to actually get access to these services.” The survey also found that offenders are four times more likely to suffer from substance abuse issues than the general population, but that services were minimal. Recent studies have shown that each dollar spent on addiction treatment can reduce the cost of drug-related crimes by $4 to $7. “It's obvious that offering this treatment now saves money in the long run,” Taxman explains. “But the other part of this report that surprised me was how much corrections administrators want to provide this treatment. It's not a matter of convincing corrections to offer more treatment. It's a matter of making do with a small amount of funding.” To help corrections agencies make the most of meager resources, NIDA recommends using evidence-based practices, utilizing screening and assessment tools to help offenders find the programs that will best meet their needs, and providing motivational training for offenders. Training staff to help with substance abuse issues also can turn COs into quasi-counselors. NIDA recommends creating more community-based treatment programs that use the same philosophy as corrections facilities to create a seamless transition back into the community. All of these recommendations are outlined in NIDA's Principles of Drug Abuse Treatment for Criminal Justice Populations: A Research Based Guide. “This report should serve as a nice catalyst for an executive branch of the federal government to start an initiative,” she says. “We need to work on improving the quality of existing programs and services, as well as expanding. We need an honest discussion about some of these issues that are impeding the use of evidence-based practices. Those are the key areas we need to focus on.” |
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