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Whose Responsibility Is Substance Abuse Treatment?

NCJ Number
225786
Journal
Corrections Today Magazine Volume: 70 Issue: 6 Dated: December 2008 Pages: 82-84
Author(s)
Melvin L. Williams
Date Published
December 2008
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article examines the role of corrections agencies in substance abuse treatment.
Abstract
In America, substance abuse has become a criminal justice issue because of criminal laws enacted to deter, incapacitate, and punish individuals who use drugs that legislators determine to have unacceptably harmful effects on users and on society. Many researchers estimate that as much as 80 percent of inmates have been incarcerated for drug offenses, whether it is possession, sale, or trying to obtain funds illegally in order to purchase drugs. While drug offenders are in prison, the public expects that they will be treated and rehabilitated so that they will return to the community drug-free and prepared to be responsible members of the community; however, drug offenders remain a major challenge for the corrections field, because there is no national treatment handbook or guide for correctional staff to use in rehabilitating drug offenders. Corrections policymakers, managers, and practitioners are hard-pressed to find a proven, success model for treating drug offenders. What is lacking is the integration of the strategies of many substance abuse treatment programs and how they are to be matched up with individuals with particular needs. One proven positive step that corrections policymakers can take is to divert selected drug offenders from the criminal justice system into community or therapeutic settings, thus providing a more cost-effective approach to drug abuse compared to the use of incarceration. This will not only increase the resources available for treatment, but also expand opportunities for intervention with clients’ families and the practice of relapse prevention in community contexts. 2 figures and 8 notes