Why are drug treatment programs important in a correction setting? What are some of the more popular options to treat inmates with drug and alcohol problems, and are these programs proven to be effective?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Recent data suggest that about 11 percent of all inmates are provided with some form of these services despite the fact that 85 percent of the entire inmate population are addicted to drugs and alcohol, have a history of substance abuse, were under the influence at the time of their crime, committed their offense to get money to buy drugs, or were incarcerated for an alcohol or drug law violation. One federal program, the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP), has inmates live in a unit separate from the general population and experience living in a prosocial community. They participate in half-day programming and half-day work, school, or vocational activities. RDAP is typically nine months long. After they leave the institution, inmates participate in community treatment services (CTS). In addition to RDAP, state institutions provide drug programs that sometimes rely on inmate self-help through groups such as Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous. Others rely on traditional counseling programs such as cognitive-behavioral counseling. Another approach is to provide abusers with methadone as a substitute to heroine. Because substance abuse is so prevalent among correctional clients, some facilities have been reformulated into therapeutic communities that apply a psychosocial, experiential learning process and rely on positive peer pressure within a highly structured social environment. The community itself becomes the primary method of change. They work together as members of a "family" to create a culture where community members confront each other's negative behavior and attitudes and establish an open, trusting, and safe environment. Treating substance-abuse offenders has proven difficult. Even highly touted programs have yielded mixed results-some have found that clients are just as likely to recidivate as the general population. But success rates may be masked by the way individual programs are administered and the effectiveness of treatment delivery. For example, evidence suggests that inmates who successfully complete TC programs have significantly lower recidivism rates than nonattendees and are more likely to seek treatment after they return to the community. When run correctly, TC programs seem effective in reducing rearrest and reincarceration rates.