NCJ Number
132056
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 53 Issue: 5 Dated: (August 1991) Pages: 188,190
Date Published
1991
Length
2 pages
Annotation
A 2-year-old inmate drug treatment program at the District of Columbia's Lorton Prison is a prelude to a grander set of drug treatment programs to be housed in a $50-million, state-of-the art correctional structure under construction.
Abstract
The current drug treatment program addresses the emotional and educational needs of the "total person" so as to disrupt destructive behavior that includes drug abuse. The new 800-bed treatment facility will be an 8-story building with Islamic and nondenominational centers, an ultramodern "hair care center," and an array of therapists to offer advanced treatment methods. Corrections administrators justify the cost of the program by arguing that the cost of not providing effective treatment, i.e., recidivism, is much greater than the cost of effective treatment. The new facility will cost annually from $11,035 to $16,500 more per inmate than the $20,000 it costs for each Lorton inmate. Similar treatment programs in New York and Oregon have established records of curtailing recidivism among their participants. Some critics of the program argue that similar investments are not being made to provide treatment for drug abusers who are not under the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system.