NCJ Number
82519
Date Published
Unknown
Length
0 pages
Annotation
LEAA's Narcotics and Drug Abuse Program Coordinator responds to questions on the purpose, components, and accomplishments of the Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime (TASC) Program. He comments on progress made by the TASC program in Dayton, Ohio; on trends in the types of drugs abused nationwide; and on reasons for the different performance levels of various TASC programs.
Abstract
TASC is a federally funded program, created in 1971, which is designed to reduce drug abuse and drug-related crime by offering therapeutic alternatives to nonviolent arrestees with serious drug abuse problems or histories. The program identifies the drug abusers immediately after they enter the criminal justice system, diagnoses each client and refers appropriate ones to community-based treatment, after which it monitors the success or failure to those in treatment. TASC's tracking and case management unit is unique and acts to ensure its credibility. Nationally, the TASC program has placed over 8,000 drug abusers into community-based treatment. There are 19 operational projects with up to 27 being planned for the near future. A 1974 evaluation of the five original TASC projects indicates that recidivism was reduced (it is currently 6-14 percent), that outreach techniques have been effective (55 percent of TASC clients had never been in treatment), and that these results are significant since most TASC clients are repeat offenders. The Dayton project, which merged TASC, pretrial release, and diversion programs, has made progress in case screening and referral. Mass urine screening in TASC cities indicate a 50-percent decline in opiate positive samples but an increase in amphetamine/barbiturate users. Because drug abuse will exist as long as poverty, hunger, and social problems plague the country, the Government can only aim to control the problem. Interagency cooperation is essential for successful TASC operations.