Suffolk County Domestic Partnership: Fill & Download for Free

I think it’s not a one size fits all.A rapist is not a drug user is not a murderer is not a white collar criminal.Dangerous felons need to be locked up for the safety of others.For other felons, we should look into alternative programs. For instance, for drug offenses, which is a major chunk of crimes.Sherry Sylvester, a director of public policy for the Correctional Association of New York notes, “These cells are filled with people convicted of drug crimes, more than for any other felony.”Drug abuse treatment is therefore necessary to achieve the goals of reducing homelessness, helping people move to work, reducing crime and prison recidivism.Currently, New York State is spending a small amount of money for drug treatment for inmates. The state spent only six percent of its corrections budget on any form of rehabilitation in 2000.As of October 2001, there were 9,300 state inmates on waiting lists for vocational programs, and 11,300 were on waiting lists for substance abuse treatment.In a study in 1997, less than one in five substance abusers in prisons nationwide that had been paroled had received treatment while in prison.A key component for ensuring the effectiveness of drug treatment as Bob Brennan of Phoenix House Drug Treatment agency advises is that the drug abuse treatment be mandated.Although Phoenix House serves both voluntary and mandated treatment, Brennan notes that "research shows that if two people enter treatment, and one is voluntary and the other is mandated by the court, the mandated person is likely to be more successful."One current program that should be expanded in New York (and is already being implemented in other states) is the drug court system. This process allows inmates the choice that in exchange for successful completion of the treatment program, the court may dismiss the original charge, reduce or set aside a sentence, offer some lesser penalty, or offer a combination of these.Drug courts have been defined by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs and consist of 10 key components: Drug Courts integrate alcohol and other drug treatment services with justice system case processing.Using a non-adversarial approach, prosecution and defense counsel promote public safety while protecting participants' due process rights. Eligible participants are identified early and promptly placed in the drug court program.Drug Courts provide access to a continuum of alcohol, drug and other related treatment and rehabilitation services. Abstinence from using illegal substances is monitored by frequent alcohol and other drug testing. A coordinated strategy governs drug court response to participants’ compliance.Ongoing judicial interaction with each drug court participant is essential Monitoring and evaluation measure the achievement of program goals and gauge effectiveness. Continuing interdisciplinary education promotes effective drug court planning, implementation, and operations.Forging partnerships among drug courts, public agencies and community-based organizations generates local support and enhances drug court effectiveness.These rules can best be understood by a hypothetical case of an arrest and treatment of a drug addict.Step One: A treatment clerk will enters the New York State ID Number (NYSID) and arrest number to find out if the defendant previously attended the treatment court. If affirmative, the new and prior cases are linked. If not, a new case is created.Step Two: A clinical case manager then decides which defendants are the best candidates for treatment, depending on many factors such as severity of their addiction, criminal history and community ties as well as basic demographic questions.Defendants are then asked about their family status, including drug use and/or past drug treatment among the people they live with as well as employment status. All questions are answered using drop-down lists and tabbing features, which ensure consistent answers among all defendants and create a database for use in the drug courts.A case manager can quickly review the defendant's complete New York State criminal record by using the technology mentioned above. Once a defendant has been assessed and deemed eligible to participate in treatment, s/he enters a plea, and is put on the treatment list.The median time from drug court intake to treatment placement is less than one month in eight of nine courts examined and less than ten days in three courts.Step Three: Using the Treatment Plan worksheet, case managers construct a plan of therapy for each person. Case managers summarize the progress and treatment, keeping the judge updated on every participant. Through the list, case managers can monitor a participant's attendance for scheduled court appearances, on-site services and meetings with case managers.Step Four: All information gathered at the Treatment Court comes together in the courtroom. The judge and attorneys review case information and decide on further options.A report submitted to the US Bureau of Justice Assistance and the New York State Unified court system shows that the system is showing great promise.The drug programs’ one-year retention rate exceed the national standard of 60% for drug courts in eight of eleven courts studied, with five New York State courts exceeding 70%. The survey was careful to study a wide range of facilities and vary the locations when measuring feasibility.Studying the mix of geographic areas, programs were looked at that contained a wide variety of modes of drug courts. As a result, all six drug courts (Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Suffolk, Syracuse, and Rochester) reduced recidivism an average of 29% over the three-year post-arrest period and an average 32% reduction over the one-year post-program period.Post-program recidivism reductions ranged from 19% to 52% with an average reduction of 32%.When in-program to post-program recidivism rates, recidivism did not rise in the post-program period, but rather declined in three of the six courts.This program would not only be morally lucrative but financially sound as well. Considering a person convicted of possessing four or more ounces of cocaine faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 15 years (and may be sentenced to life), drug crimes are an expensive business.Drug rehabilitation programs have saved New York State $254 million in incarceration costs, according to the Center for Court Innovation study.Considering a majority of drug addicts in prison are not receiving treatment, the amount of money that could be saved by the government could triple or quadruple from that amount. Money put into drug treatment could actually be counted as an investment for the city.According to Center for Court Innovation, Offenders who completed court-supervised programs were 29 percent less likely to be re-arrested, which means 29 percent less prison cells required to be funded and maintained. In other states, drug treatment programs for inmates are being implanted with excellent results.According to a study done in Lafayette, Louisiana showed that a drug offender can cost $88,000 in incarceration rates alone, but intensive treatment would only have cost about $5,000. Clearly, it is a financially sound choice to advocate treatment.15th Judicial District Judge Jules Edwards III, who helped start the local drug court in his home town of Lafayette, Louisiana argued that "The knee-jerk lock-'em-all-up approach is mindless, expensive, dehumanizing and horribly shortsighted," and alternatives must be found.In the program he started, (Focused Intervention through Sanctions and Treatment or FIST) inmates are required to work with staff to achieve a plan to “go straight.” They are given frequent drug tests and are required to attend weekly court appearances, counseling, and group meetings as well as hold down a job.Although this might seem extreme, the Judge points to recent statistics show that recidivism rates after one year of graduation from FIST are 7 percent, meaning there is a 93 percent success rate. After two years, recidivism rates climb slightly to 11 percent.Other states have different, but no less successful methods. In Iowa, a specific judge is assigned to the drug treatment program. Also the program consists of probation officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, substance-abuse providers, and other people as needed.This team meets with participants weekly to deal with rule infractions, with the goal to praise and encourage those who are doing well. Inmates get help with finding employment and a place to live, taking classes in managing money, mental health and domestic issues, as well as other programs, like obtaining drivers’ license.All programs require intensive, ongoing substance-abuse treatment; participants are very closely monitored, and if they relapse, consequences are immediate.The preliminary findings have been successful, with a study of the Maricopa County Drug Court in Arizona showing that after 36 months, 33.1% of drug court participants had been rearrested, compared with 43.7% of the control group.Findings were similar in a study of the Wilmington, Delaware Drug Court. Drug court participants and a comparison group were followed for 12 months. One-third (33.3%) of the drug court participants were recidivists, compared with more than one-half (51.1%) of the control group. (Source List)