New Dallas County deflection center means treatment, not jail, for low-level offenders

Drug court programs serve as an alternative to incarceration for people dealing with substance abuse. The treatment-based approach provides medical treatment, counseling, education assistance, and employment assistance.

Across the country, prisons are incorporating “therapeutic communities” to help incarcerated individuals find the residential treatment they need. Substance abuse continues to be strongly linked to recidivism, and in an attempt to break that cycle, these therapeutic communities provide people with structured rehabilitation, counseling, and support as an alternative to traditional prison. Many are federally funded, but considering they’ve only recently gained traction, they still face issues like buy-in and capacity.

The violence prevention program Choose to Change pairs cognitive behavioral therapy with intensive mentoring for high-risk Chicago teens, resulting in participants being 31% less likely to be arrested than their peers who did not participate in the program.

Merging accountability with treatment promotes recovery for those charged with drug possession. In Franklin County, Ohio, the municipal court system operates a program called Helping Achieve Recovery Together. The court recovery program provides a two-year track for participants to receive mental health support from peers and the courts, with the goal of moving them from the criminal justice system and into treatment.

An upscale rehabilitation center is coming to Eagle County in Colorado, after similar models have seen success throughout California. Although many residents have opposed the development, developers hope that this addiction-treatment facility will help decrease the stigma for those in the community who need to seek help.

Veterans treatment courts were developed in 2008 as a way for veterans to receive mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment rather than face incarceration. Created to address the mental health concerns that can lead to drug abuse and other issues, the courts have not seen the successes that were originally anticipated. Due to little demand, inconvenient locations, and mixed results, experts are calling into question the existence of such specialized courts.

In one year, the drug overdoses in Roanoke, VA have taken 12 lives and another 76 have overdosed but survived. The police department developed a new program called the Roanoke Valley Hope Initiative, designed to provide rehabilitation without arrest for those who seek it. The program simulates the successful national effort to help drug abusers instead of incarcerating them.

Providing positive interventions reduces gun violence among struggling youths. In New Haven, Connecticut, the Project Longevity program offers social services, treatment, housing, and counseling to those who typically only face crackdowns by law enforcement. The program aims to assist and help gang members find a way out of violence, supported in the long-term by funding approved by the CT state legislature.

During the last 12 years, the number of minors in Alaska sentenced to time in correctional facilities because of drug or alcohol charges has been steadily reduced, from 730 in 2003 to 395 in 2014. A big contributing factor behind that improvement has come with the department’s progress in, firstly, assessing what kids need treatment and, secondly, getting them into the right treatment programs.

The Institute for Nonviolence Chicago is working to reduce gun violence by reaching out to victims and perpetrators immediately after the violence. The organization negotiates peace and offers cognitive behavioral intervention services to help them develop strategies to keep negative emotions from turning into violent actions.