Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) Study: The Characteristics and Components of RSAT Funded Treatment and Aftercare Services, Executive Summary

• NCJ Number: 250716
• Author(s): Kristin Stainbrook; Jeanine Hanna; Amy Salomon
• Date Published: April 2017
• Length: 11 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2013-MU-CX-0057
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Survey; Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Summary); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored)

Annotation

This is the executive summary of a study of the use of funding under the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoner Program (RSAT) in aftercare community-based programs in addition to prisons and jails.

Abstract

Under the Second Chance Act (SCA), legislation was amended so that States that received funds under RSAT were mandated to ensure that individuals participating in federally funded resident treatment program receive aftercare services, including case management and other support services. An associated mandate was that the U.S. Attorney General, through the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and in consultation with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) conduct a study on the use and effectiveness of Federal funding for aftercare services under the amended legislation. This study, which is the subject of the current report, determined that just over half of the States have adopted a funding mechanism that makes RSAT funding widely available to applicants on a competitive basis. Most RSAT funds are used to support treatment services in correctional settings. Just over one-fifth of RSAT-funded programs provide step-down treatment or aftercare services. It is likely that States have chosen to focus on correctional facility-based treatment services because of the limited funding available for RSAT programs. A number of stakeholder respondents reported that the need for treatment services is high, posing a challenge in determining the most effective use of limited funds. Contextual barriers and limited resources are problems that one funding program can solve alone. Engagement in community initiatives and coalition-building are necessary to develop solutions to the challenges that prevent full community reintegration and long-term recovery supports. The study involved a web-based survey of State Point of Contacts with the Bureau of Justice Assistance and telephone interviews with representatives of RSAT-funded programs. 2 figures and 13 references