Proven Substance Abuse Programs are Making a
Difference in
Evidence-based, “best” practices
have emerged in substance abuse treatment and are being implemented in the
state, providing tools that result in a recovery for many individuals
previously considered untreatable; as evidenced by stable living situations,
employment, and reduced contact with the criminal justice system.
Drug Courts
Coordinated through ODMHSAS,
the drug court program couples the power of the court system with the benefits
of substance abuse treatment. The drug court’s primary purpose is to redirect
certain drug offenders into a highly structured, judicially monitored treatment
program rather than sending them to prison. Each participant is evaluated and
assisted by a drug court “team” that includes representatives from the
judicial, criminal justice, law enforcement and treatment field. No violent offenders are eligible for the
program.
There are 49 drug courts serving
53 counties across the state. Drug
courts are an effective way to treat substance abuse, and are saving millions
of taxpayer dollars. The average cost of drug court for one person is about
$5,000 per year, compared with $16,000 or more per year for prison.
We know that drug courts
work and are currently saving
A cost comparison model was
developed to analyze the cost of sending 3,532 offenders (the number of
participants analyzed during the reporting time period) to drug court, instead
of prison. The model is based on the performance of the courts during the last
4 years, in which drug court graduates were more than four times less likely to
be re-incarcerated than released prison inmates. The model indicates that the
4-year cost to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, if drug court did not
exist, is $87,123,725.
True measures of the
program’s successes are outcome results. Comparisons were made between graduate
characteristics upon their program entry and completion with the following
results:
Percentage
Increase
Graduates
Finding Employment 82%
Graduates
Increasing Income 60%
Graduates
with a High School Diploma 24%
Graduates
Living with their Children 21%
Additionally, re-arrest
rates of drug court graduates and traditional probationers differ
significantly. Drug court graduates are about 2 times less likely to recidivate
than standard probationers, and 4 times less likely to recidivate than an
offender released upon completion of their sentence.
Substance Abuse Treatment for Adolescents, Women and
Their Children
Among the most vulnerable and
historically underserved populations in the past are pregnant women and women
with dependent children. This is changing, however, as these women and children
are now one of the department’s top priorities. Pregnant women and women with
dependent children receive services through the agency’s Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF) contract with the State Department of Human Services.
Treatment programs offer comprehensive, gender-specific substance abuse
treatment services focusing on a number of areas. Individual and group
counseling covers the psychology of addiction, core values, spirituality,
relationships, anger management, 12-step recovery groups, family therapy,
co-dependency, relapse prevention and parenting skills, as well as a number of other
healthy living-related topics.
Toward the end of the four-
to six-month program, clients begin working on receiving their high-school
equivalency diplomas, if needed, and undergo job testing and interviewing
skills. Programs also have comprehensive services for children ranging from
infants who are born with drugs or alcohol in their system to toddlers and
children up to age 12.
DUI Programs
Problem Gambling Service System
Pathological gambling, an
addictive behavior related to obsessive compulsive and impulse control
disorder, devastates the lives of an estimated 26,000 adults in
Fifteen to 20 percent of
pathological gamblers attempt suicide and 40 percent commit crimes to get
gambling money. Divorce, child neglect, domestic violence and loss of home and
job impact families and, in turn, our state’s judicial, health and social
service systems, creating a public health problem.
Before 2005, no public funds
were allocated to prevent and treat pathological and problem gambling. In
March, 2005, however, pursuant to the Oklahoma Horse Racing State-Tribal Gaming
Act, ODMHSAS began receiving monthly installments, totaling $250,000 annually,
to provide treatment and education related to problem gambling. Late in 2006,
ODMHSAS will receive its first quarterly installment pursuant to the Oklahoma
Education Lottery Act, totaling $500,000 annually. This funding is also
targeted to prevention and treatment of problem gambling.
It is the goal of ODMHSAS to
develop a statewide network of accessible, effective problem gambling treatment
services. However, the funding available is still so limited that this will be
challenging.
Co-occurring Disorders
Both state and national
statistics demonstrate that more and more persons needing services have both a
mental health and a substance abuse disorder (co-occurring disorder). Approximately half of all clients admitted to
a department inpatient psychiatric facility have an alcohol diagnosis or
presenting problem in addition to their mental illness.
Providing services to
persons with co-occurring disorders presents some unique challenges. First, service providers need to have staff
that are appropriately trained and equipped to address both issues. Second, there is a lack of services for persons
with co-occurring disorders. The
department is aggressively moving forward to address these needs and ensure
appropriate care for all clients.