Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime (TASC) (From Handbook of Drug Control in the United States, P 139-150, 1990, James A Inciardi, ed. -- See NCJ-126319)

• NCJ Number: 126326
• Author(s): B A Weinman
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 12 pages
• Sale Source: Greenwood Publishing Group
• Publication Type: Program Description (Model)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime (TASC) is a program initiated by the Federal government in 1972 and designed to provide pretrial diversion for opiate addicts who were facing charges for nonviolent crimes and who were identified in jail by urine tests and interviews.

Abstract

The program was based on the United States Supreme Court's decision in Robinson v. California in 1962, which held that a State could establish a program of compulsory treatment for narcotic addiction and could impose penal sanctions for failure to comply. By 1975, a total of 29 TASC projects were operating in 24 states. TASC provides an objective and effective link between the justice system and the treatment community. TASC programs have identified 10 organizational and operational elements that are necessary for a successful program. TASC is also considered an approach to user accountability for drug abuse. In February 1989 the National Consortium of TASC Programs adopted specific goals and then developed the following three outcome measures: (1) rearrest rates, (2) retention in treatment, and (3) drug-free status. 23 reference notes