The New Mexico Department of Public Safety FY 2023 Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Program Formula Grant Solicitation

The New Mexico Department of Public Safety (NMDPS), as State Administering Agency (SAA), on behalf of the New Mexico Department of Corrections (NMCD), is seeking funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance's (BJA) 2023 Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Program (RSAT) to support its FY23 New Mexico RSAT Program. The requested funding is for continuation of existing therapeutic community programming through the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) therapeutic modality, including substance use treatment and community reintegration services for persons incarcerated in New Mexico correctional facilities.

The mission of the RDAP program is to provide a holistic treatment environment within which clients can successfully change negative patterns of behavior and thinking, with the primary goal of encouraging a law-abiding, responsible and drug-free lifestyle. The NMCD provides this opportunity to an estimated 89 percent of the prison population who would not otherwise have access to substance abuse treatment while incarcerated.  Receiving FY2023 RSAT funding will enhance the NMCD’s ability to provide substance abuse treatment, re-entry planning activities, and broad-based community aftercare services to inmates in New Mexico who are preparing for re-entry into the community.

New Mexico’s three-year recidivism rate reached a high in 2020 at an estimated 60%.[1] The high recidivism rate among released inmates who suffer from SUD indicates that substance abuse treatment during incarceration is imperative to reduce the growing size of the prison population and to improve public health and safety by decreasing the likelihood of re-offense after release.

In conjunction with effectuating change in the prison treatment environment, RSAT funding will directly impact the NMCD’s ability to enhance substance abuse treatment services provided to New Mexico inmates who are preparing for transition and re-entry into the community through the incorporation of re-entry planning activities and broad-based community aftercare services. Through this project, the NMCD will be able to provide advanced training to client-facing clinicians, partner with community treatment providers to support re-entry services, provide the RDAP program needed supplies and equipment, and conduct statewide RDAP site visits for compliance and staff training, assuring consistency among RDAP program sites.

[1] New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee, FY 2020 Performance Report Card