Don't Lock 'Em Up. Give 'Em a Chance to Quit Drugs

After San Joaquin County adopted a slew of criminal justice reforms, crime dropped by 20 percent, the lowest number in a decade. One of the things that was implemented were speciality courts aimed at decreasing arrest time and helping “former prisoners find jobs, housing and treatment for mental health and addiction problems.” Other measures include ending cash bail and racial bias training. “Crime has always been issue No. 1, but the narrative in this city is one about being a second chance city.”

First Day Forward provides support and assistance to people with substance use disorders who are reentering the community after incarceration in seven rural counties. The program is driven by peer-support specialists who have lived experience to provide trusting support to those seeking assistance. The program has been shown to work as the recidivism rate for those who’ve successfully completed it has dropped to 23.5%, compared to 53.2% in a nearby county.

Women in Recovery is a diversion program for women who would otherwise face prison time for drug-related offenses. The comprehensive program lasts 18 months and helps participants restore their mental health, reunite with their children, develop skills that help them get jobs, secure housing and reenter the community. Women in Recovery helps reduce recidivism rates and 70% of women who start the program complete it and graduate.

The Stable Recovery program provides housing and recovery support for people suffering from addiction, as well as job training to prepare participants to work in the equine industry. The program offers a sense of therapeutic community to those in recovery, as well as newly trained workers to address the labor shortage in the equine industry.

Washington’s Snohomish County has implemented a program that embeds social workers with the police. The program has been an effective method to bring services to people in need rather than arrest and process them as criminals.

Many previously incarcerated people struggle to both rehabilitate and gain the necessary skills for a successful post-prison life. This article looks at Hope Hall, a halfway house using a comprehensive approach meant to address underlying issues of incarceration as well as prepare participants for future employment.

Therapeutic courts like the Anchorage Wellness Court were born out of a desire to reduce recidivism rates and deflate ballooning prison populations. For many, they have become the answer to breaking the cycle of criminal behavior while treating people with substance abuse issues.

U.S. courts are offering war veterans who face jail time the choice of rehabilitation. This helps them adjust to civilian life and reduces repeat offences.

Chesterfield County, Virginia implemented a multi-faceted response to the opioid crisis, including a jail-based recovery program, Helping Addicts Recover Progressively (HARP), that brings people in recovery to the local jail to talk about addiction and treatment resources. Combined with other efforts, overdose deaths have dropped by half in a single year, and around 4,000 people have participated in HARP.

Research has found that providing medications for opioid use disorder can help prevent overdoses after release from prison. The state’s Department of Adult Correction recently launched a pilot program to test this theory. 229 of the 287 participants received treatment, several of whom said the access to the medications helped save their lives.