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| Treatment Needed To Keep From Re-offending |
| By adn.com |
| Published: 07/02/2010 |
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After six months following Kristin Alexander, an addict with a drug conviction, through the courts, jail, the Office of Children's Services system, probation and drug treatment, I know there has to be a smarter, cheaper way for public agencies to deal with people like her. It starts with making drug and alcohol treatment more available. At every level, from lawyers to social workers to her probation officer, I met people who cared about what happened to Kristin. They knew that she had an addiction she couldn't control. They knew she needed treatment. But waiting lists for treatment programs were long, logistics were complicated and all of them were frustrated with a system that's expensive, inefficient and ultimately ineffective at keeping people with addictions from going back to jail. I expected Kristin would run into bureaucratic problems and she did. Agencies don't have a good way to communicate with one another. Services get duplicated or overlooked. There isn't enough staff. There's too much red tape. Everything takes too long. But those issues were minor compared to one over-arching problem: addicts in the criminal justice system who want drug and alcohol treatment can't get it when they need it. Read More. |
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