FY 2024 Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Program - Formula

Goals include continuing the identification, assessment, and referral of alcohol and drug offenders who require addiction treatment services, whether they are currently incarcerated or entering the correctional system. The program aims to maintain a continuum of treatment services for incarcerated individuals and ensure continuity of care for those completing addiction treatment programs within the correctional system as they return to the community. This will be achieved through a comprehensive range of aftercare services, improved coordination among agencies responsible for treatment, and enhanced information sharing. Additionally, the program seeks to promote public and stakeholder awareness of the importance of providing intervention and treatment for substance-abusing offenders.

The funding will support two residential treatment units, separated from the general correctional population in their respective facilities—one for male youthful offenders and one for female offenders. Participants will undergo treatment for six to twelve months in a therapeutic community setting, focusing on addressing their substance use disorders and developing cognitive, behavioral, social, vocational, and other skills necessary to overcome their substance use and related problems.

The program's overall purpose is to promote and enhance public safety by reducing crimes committed by drug-involved offenders who have been released from state correctional facilities. The program aims to achieve a reduction in re-arrest and conviction rates compared to similar incarcerated individuals who did not receive this treatment, thereby reducing the number of victims, freeing up bed spaces, and saving tax dollars. Additional benefits include offering formerly incarcerated individuals the promise of a better life, the potential to reconnect with and support their families, and the ability to satisfy restitution and other financial commitments.

The South Carolina Department of Public Safety, acting as the State Administrative Agency, will administer RSAT funding to the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) and any county detention center that meets the RSAT requirements. The SCDC will operate three residential substance abuse treatment programs under the therapeutic community model: one for male youthful offenders, one for adult males, and one for females. The SCDC will coordinate the release of offenders who have graduated from the ATUs into the community with the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services, as well as with local drug treatment agencies. County detention centers that meet the RSAT requirements will operate a jail-based pretrial SUD treatment program.