Over three-quarters of the nysdoccs (DOCCS) under custody population has been identified with a substance (drugs or alcohol) use disorder and in need of some level of substance use disorder…

The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) was awarded a $812,171 Formula Grant under the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) for State Prisoners Program (CFDA 16.593). The grant will fund residential substance use disorder (SUD) treatment programs at three DOCCS (New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision) correctional facilities - Marcy, Wallkill, and Collins - over a four-year period from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2028. The programs operate as therapeutic communities that provide offender-centered assessment, treatment planning, and recovery support services across ten life areas. Funds will also support staff training on evidence-based SUD treatment approaches. The program aims to break the cycle of addiction and criminal behavior by increasing access to comprehensive, trauma-informed treatment and facilitating successful community reintegration for incarcerated individuals with substance use disorders.

Over three-quarters of the nysdoccs (DOCCS) under custody population has been identified with a substance (drugs or alcohol) use disorder and in need of some level of substance use disorder treatment programming. A necessary component of successful reentry for these individuals entails substance use disorder treatment prior to release. To meet this need, DOCCS established several residential substance abuse treatment (RSAT) programs and has had a variety of RSAT programs in operation beginning with its FY 1996 grant award. DOCCS proposes to use its FY 2024 RSAT award to operate residential treatment programs at three correctional facilities. The facilities include the established programs at marcy, wallkill, and collins correctional facilities. These programs operate as minimum six-month therapeutic, residential treatment programs and house participants in dedicated housing units. Funds will also be used to provide a variety of multi-day staff trainings. All departmental alcohol and substance abuse treatment (ASAT) and RSAT programs are operated as therapeutic communities (TCS) and structured to provide offender-centered assessment, treatment planning, and evaluation of progress and continuing recovery planning in ten identified life areas. The ten life areas are: alcohol and chemical abuse and/or dependence, legal consequences, emotional or trauma processing, physical health, other compulsive behaviors, cognitive distortions, family support, social and leisure activities, employment/educational/vocational/financial needs, and the community. These life areas were developed based on samsha guidelines and publications and represent the departments desire to establish a curriculum based on best practice and/or evidence-based resources. In keeping with FY 2024 RSAT requirements, DOCCS is continuing a comprehensive drug testing protocol at all its of RSAT programs and researching its efficacy. Additionally, as with past RSAT allocations, the department will monitor the RSAT programs at each facility to ensure program fidelity, collect program participation data, including the pilot projects drug testing results. All required PMT reports will be completed and filed in a timely fashion. In conclusion, the department intends to use its FY 2024 RSAT allocation to continue residential substance abuse treatment programs at three DOCCS correctional facilities