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Maine County Jails: A Survey of the Substance Abuse Treatment Needs of Inmates

NCJ Number
112382
Date Published
1986
Length
27 pages
Annotation
To assess 1986 substance abuse services in Maine County jails, telephone interviews were conducted with representatives of the 11 jails (of 15) not receiving State funds for such services.
Abstract
All respondents expressed a need for additional services, although two wanted to try the program prior to making a final commitment. All 11 programs surveyed were inadequate in terms of professional services: only 5 of 11 jails had professional in-house substance abuse services, and service availability varied from 1.5 to 20 hours per week. Only five jails used Alcoholics Anonymous services in-house. Times of availability were 1 to 6 hours per week. Only one jail had a formal presentencing or postincarceration substance abuse program, although many jails referred releasees to community substance abuse programs on a regular basis. Based on daily jail populations, an additional 10.5 counselors would be required to establish substance abuse programs meeting minimal standards for presentence activities, in-house screening and counseling, and postincarceration referral. Provision of these basic services would cost $262,500. Services, if implemented, should be purchased from local providers to permit flexibility and to accommodate the need for diverse services. Jail data are appended. 1 table.