Key Findings: Fight Drug Addiction and Address Mental Illness Head On
-
Every dollar spent on treatment (rather than incarceration) will yield $7 in future state savings.[i] Yet Texas spends 90% of criminal justice funds on prison beds and “hard incarceration,” and only 10% on diversion programs, community correction, and treatment alternatives to incarceration, which are more likely to increase public safety when properly implemented.[ii]
-
Texas has the second largest incarcerated population in the U.S., 80% of which reports a history of drug and alcohol abuse.[iii]
-
In 2007, 25,678 individuals (34.9% of received inmates) were sent to Texas prisons for drug-related offenses according to statistics from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ).[iv]
-
Only 34% of state prisoners with substance abuse problems receive treatment while incarcerated, while a much smaller population – only 6% – of state jail confinees do.[v]
-
A dollar spent on drug courts saves $4 in health care costs.[vi]
-
Research shows that evidence-based treatment programs are more likely to reduce crime than “tough on crime” penalties. After conducting an analysis of various criminal justice models, the Texas Criminal Justice Policy Council found that individuals who received appropriate treatment were 4 times less likely to go back to prison than those who did not receive treatment.[vii]
-
Other studies have shown that severe punishments for low-level offenses can have the opposite effect of that intended. According to the National Institute of Corrections at the U.S. Department of Justice:
− Punishment produced a -0.07% change in an individual’s inclination towards criminal activity (meaning it increases criminal behavior).
− Treatment produced a 15% positive change in an individual’s inclination towards criminal activity (meaning it decreases criminal behavior).
− Cognitive skills programs produced a 29% decrease in an individual’s inclination towards criminal activity (meaning these programs are most effective at decreasing criminal behavior).[viii]
-
Evidence-based studies show that integrated treatment is the most appropriate and effective response for addressing individuals suffering from both mental illness and substance abuse. Findings show that considerable work is needed in integrating substance abuse and mental health treatment.[ix]
-
Nationally, Texas ranks 46th in mental health care resources, which includes correctional care.[x]
-
30% of Texas’ state jail prison inmates are logged in the state’s public mental health database, with approximately 10% of all inmates having a diagnosis of serious mental illness that would be considered in the “priority population” for receipt of public mental health services.[xi]
-
Psychiatric treatment providers are scarce in most Texas state prison units. Not every unit is equipped with mental health professionals, and some units have only one staff member for every 1,034 prisoners.[xii]
-
Nationally, nearly a quarter of both state prisoners and jail inmates who have had a mental health problem had served 3 or more prior incarcerations.[xiii]
-
According to TDCJ, approximately 5,400 individuals with special needs (mental illness, mental retardation, serious medical or long term care needs) were released from incarceration in fiscal year 2007 alone.[xiv]
[i] National Association of State Alcohol/Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD), Policy Brief: Offender Re-entry, (February 2006), http://www.nasadad.org/resource.php?base_id=945.
[ii]Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2009, (August 2008).
[iii] NASADAD, Policy Brief.
[iv] Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), Executive Administrative Services,. Statistical Report: FY 2007, (2007).
[v] The Urban Institute, Returning Home: Exploring the Challenges and Successes of Recently Released Texas Prisoners, (May 2007).
[vi] Redonna Chandler, PhD and Bennett Fletcher, “Treating Drug Abuse and Addiction in the Criminal Justice System: Improving Public Health and Safety,”Journal of the American Medical Association 301, 2, (January 14, 2009): 183-190.
[vii] Travis County, FY 2005-2006 Community Plan for Coordination of Criminal Justice and Related Activities, (2005), 11,
http://www.caction.org/PublicSafety/2005_2006TravisCountyCommunityPlan.pdf.
[viii] Judge Marion F. Edwards, Reduce Recidivism in DUI Offenders: Add a Cognitive-Behavioral Program Component, (2006), 1-3, http://moral-reconation-therapy.com/Resources/duimrt.pdf.
[ix] Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense and The Office of Court Administration, Judicial Perspectives on Substance Abuse & Mental Health Diversionary Programs and Treatment, (2009), http://www.courts.state.tx.us/tfid/08workshopinformation/AnaJudge%20Survey%20PPP%20--%20FINAL.ppt.
[x] The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, State Health Facts Online, (March 2004), http://www.statehealthfacts.kff.org/cgi-bin/healthfacts.cgi?action=compare.
[xi] Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments (TCOOMMI), Biennial Report, (2007), 27-28, http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/publications/tcomi/Biennial%20Report%202007%20-%20Final.pdf.
[xii] Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Unit Directory, http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/unitdirectory/all.htm.
[xiii] Ibid.
[xiv] Jeff Baldwin, e-mail message to Ana Yáñez-Correa, May 13, 2008.