NCJ Number
227245
Journal
Addiction Science Clinical Practice Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: April 2009 Pages: 31-36
Date Published
April 2009
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article describes the Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC) of Illinois, which has partnered with criminal justice and drug treatment programs in establishing a basic recovery-oriented system, which has programs that span preadjudication, probation or incarceration, and parole.
Abstract
The Illinois TASC organizational structure intersects with every criminal justice component, including courts, jails, juvenile and adult prisons, and probation and parole agencies. For many years, it has worked with the State of Illinois and Cook County (Chicago) in developing and implementing services and treatment programs for clients under supervision by each criminal justice component. The goal is to create a complete recovery-oriented system that offers appropriate services to offenders with all types and intensities of drug involvement in all stages of recovery anywhere in the criminal justice system. Although existing programs do not yet match the scale of need, the infrastructure and program are in place to serve clients at each phase of criminal justice processing. This article describes the preadjudication program (the Cook County State's Attorney General's Drug Abuse Program); two programs at adjudication and sentencing (Cook County Mental Health Court and drug courts); probation (statewide treatment for nonviolent drug-abusing offenders as an alternative to prison); and a treatment program that encompasses periods in prison and the transition into the community at release. A separate section of the article focuses on the work of the TASC case manager, and another section reviews current initiatives and challenges. TASC has effectively served as an independent mediating agency that balances criminal justice and treatment goals in order to reduce recidivism and increase recovery success among substance-involved offenders. 16 references