Drug-related crimes represent one of the most common types of offense for which individuals are committed to prison

The Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services (OOCJS) was awarded a $1,127,507 Formula Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) under the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) for State Prisoners Program (CFDA 16.593). The grant aims to increase access to evidence-based substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and reduce overdose deaths among incarcerated individuals in Ohio. Key objectives include enhancing residential treatment services, improving assessments to increase participation in evidence-based programming, and strengthening offender reentry and aftercare coordination. The grant will fund initiatives within state, local, and tribal correctional facilities over a 4-year period from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2028. As the state-level criminal justice planning and funding organization, OOCJS plans to sub-award portions of the grant to local government entities, non-profit organizations, county courts, law enforcement agencies, and specialized service providers to create a comprehensive network of support across Ohio.

More than 14,400 new inmates were committed to the ohio department of rehabilitation and correction (ODRC) during the 2023 calendar year. Of these commitments, approximately 26 percent were for a drug OFFENSE21 percent of these individuals were women and 79 percent were men. And those rates have the potential to be higher, research suggests an estimated 65 percent of the US prison population were under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crime. The ohio department of mental health and addiction services (OHIOMHAS) and the ohio department of rehabilitation and correction (ODRC) continue to document the need for more substance abuse treatment for inmates, given that such a large proportion of state prisoners need substance abuse treatment. The goals of the ohio residential substance abuse treatment initiative administered through the ohio office of criminal justice services (OCJS) are:to increase the number of residential treatment services and beds within jails, prisons, juvenile detention centers, and community correctional facilities, available for substance abusing offenders with high risk and needs; to increase the number offenders assessed for their individual criminogenic and substance abuse needs, thereby increasing the number of offenders who receive evidence-based programming and treatment; and to improve offender reentry to the community and aftercare services, through coordination between local resources and correctional institutions, thereby reducing recidivism.