NCJ Number
146626
Date Published
1990
Length
18 pages
Annotation
As part of an American Jail Association project to establish model jail drug treatment programs throughout the Nation, this report presents the results of a survey of the Nation's jails to assess the extent of in-jail drug treatment services.
Abstract
The majority of jails that responded to the survey reported fewer than 50 inmates. Respondents were categorized into six groups according to their average daily peak population to evaluate programmatic differences among jails of varying size. Only 458 of 1,647 (28 percent) of jails that responded to the survey offered drug treatment services other than detoxification. Jails of less than 50 inmates were particularly underrepresented among facilities with drug treatment programs, with only 15 percent currently providing such services. The likelihood of a jail having a drug treatment program was significantly greater for larger jails. Of jails with drug treatment programs, 33 percent of all programs consisted solely of volunteer services, leaving only 307 of 1,641 jails (19 percent) with funded programs. Smaller jails were more likely to report drug treatment programs based on volunteer services, although almost one- third of the largest jails rely on volunteer services. An additional 116 (9 percent) of jails reported plans to implement a drug treatment program within 6 months. The survey did not assess the type of drug treatment program planned. Only 5 percent of jails of less than 50 inmates reported plans to develop a new program, in contrast to over 20 percent of jails larger than 250 inmates. 11 tables and 7 references