CA Prison Drug Treatment Called "Complete Waste"

The more than $1 billion that California has spent on prison drug treatment programs represents "a waste of money and a missed opportunity to change lives," the Office of the Inspector General stated today in a new report. Jennifer Warren of the LA Times has a writeup today on the bleak findings of the OIG.

I really hope this report isn't the basis for a new round of suggesting that "nothing works" when it comes to rehabilitation. Instead, legislators need to look at where the OIG is actually placing the blame: on the prison administrators.

[T]he Office of the Inspector General found a multitude of reasons to explain the failure of the programs, nearly all of which begin and end with poor management by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Office of Substance Abuse Programs. One central finding is that even though the contracts between the state and the in-prison providers require contractors to use the “therapeutic community” substance abuse treatment model, the Office of Substance Abuse Programs not only fails to hold providers accountable for fulfilling that requirement, but also fails to create the conditions that would allow the therapeutic community model to operate. As a result, many of the providers fall far short of delivering therapeutic community programs. University of California, Los Angeles researchers concluded after one study, in fact, that the in-prison programs reflect a therapeutic community “in name only.”

Comments

[Jo-D]

Well...
Though I've never been to prison, I certainly believe you! Check out the bullcrap printed about the 'L.A. County Jail Drug Treatment' entitled 'The International Experiance of Drug Courts':

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g190/Jo9991/3c1f87fd.jpg - page 1

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g190/Jo9991/ddc7567a.jpg - page 2

... And there's a lot more where that comes from. About 120 gigs worth!

[Drug rehabs]

There are some special organizations which provide drug/alcohol referral services to people and that too free-of-cost. People who are seeking help for drug rehab centers can state their requirements to the counselors and they can suggest some of the best drug treatment options suitable to them.
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