Appropriations: Funding for Programs Serving People with Criminal Records and/or Addiction Histories

LAC conducts national advocacy to maintain and expand funding for drug and alcohol and HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, and research programs.  Specifically, the Center advocates for increased funding for:

• The Second Chance Act is recently authorized legislation aimed at helping states and localities address the needs of individuals reentering the community from the criminal justice system. Because the Second Chance Act was recently approved by Congress and signed into law in April 2008, FY 2009 would be the first year for which Second Chance programs would receive funding.
• The Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) Program provides drug addiction treatment services for individuals in State and local correctional facilities. Despite the extremely high number of incarcerated individuals who need drug addiction treatment services, there is a severe shortage of these services in the criminal justice system. Programs like RSAT that offer treatment during incarceration, combined with aftercare services for individuals who are returning to the community, are essential to any successful reentry strategy.
• The Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) Program helps States to develop comprehensive and coordinated initiatives to enforce State laws that prohibit underage drinking. Addiction is a disease that begins in adolescence; research by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has shown that if we can stop use before age 25, we will significantly reduce the prevalence of addiction.
• The Drug Courts Program allows States, localities, State and local courts, and Indian tribal governments to apply for financial and technical assistance to develop and establish drug courts. The Drug Courts program works to address the high level of drug use found within individuals convicted of non-violent crimes in the criminal justice system.
• The Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program assists State and local governments with funding for a broad range of law enforcement-related activities including education, prevention and treatment for drug addiction. Many States have used JAG funds to set up multi-jurisdictional and State-wide drug taskforces, key to fighting the flow of drugs such as methamphetamine.
• The Methamphetamine Treatment for Pregnant and Parenting Women Program, recently authorized as a part of the Combat Meth Act within the USA Patriot Act, seeks to provide grants to address methamphetamine use and addiction among pregnant and parenting women. In many states, large numbers of women are incarcerated for methamphetamine-related crimes, and most of these women are mothers to minor children.
• The Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act (MIOTCRA) grants provide resources to states and local areas to foster collaborations within the criminal and juvenile justice systems for adults or juveniles convicted of nonviolent offenses who have mental illness or co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorder and face criminal charges that are a product of that person's illness.

Visit the Alerts section of this web site for what you can do to advocate for additional resources for alcohol and drug treatment, prevention, and research, and to see appropriations testimony and policy papers LAC has developed.

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