NCJ Number
152196
Date Published
1994
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This paper describes how the Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime (TASC) program in Birmingham, Alabama, uses a coordinated case management approach to deal with drug dependence among female offenders and keep them out of jail and in the community.
Abstract
The TASC program philosophy is based on the belief that drug-dependent women need to have a great deal of support in the community. Although the coordinated case management approach of TASC is not gender-specific, the program assesses women's needs in various ways and attempts to develop innovative approaches to meet the needs of female offenders. TASC seeks to reduce the criminality of drug offenders by providing treatment as an alternative to jail. The program intervenes at all stages of the criminal justice process and acts as an intermediary between local criminal justice agencies and drug treatment programs. The program screens and assesses drug-abusing offenders and provides treatment diagnosis, AIDS risk counseling, and voluntary AIDS testing. Case managers track and monitor the offender's drug abstinence, employment, and social-personal functioning. In addition, case managers use the Offender Profile Index to determine which drug abuse intervention is most appropriate. The operation of Aletheia House, a drug treatment program for women that includes child care and services for pregnant women, is described. TASC strategies to meet family, housing, and employment needs of women are noted. 1 figure