FY 2009 Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) for State Prisoners Program

The Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Formula Grant Program (RSAT) assists states and local governments in developing and implementing substance abuse treatment programs in state and local correctional and detention facilities. The RSAT Program also assists states and local governments in creating and maintaining community-based aftercare services for offenders who are released from institutionally based substance abuse programs. Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Formula Grant funds may be used to implement three types of programs. At least 10 percent of the total state allocation for FY 2008 shall be made available to local correctional and detention facilities (provided such facilities exist) for either residential substance abuse treatment programs or jail-based substance abuse treatment programs as defined below.

The State of Alaska will use the FY 2009 Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) Program funds to provide continued support for two Alaska Department of Corrections' RSAT therapeutic community programs: (1) the women's thirty-two bed program at the Hiland Mountain Correctional Center in Eagle River; and (2) the forty-two bed program for male offenders at the Wildwood Correctional Center located in Kenai. The continuing goal of Alaska's Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) program is to break the cycle of drug use and violence by reducing the demand for, use, and trafficking of illegal drugs by using the therapeutic community model as an approach to treating the most seriously addicted incarcerated inmates. This approach focuses on the drug and/or alcohol abuse and addiction of the inmate as well as the associated problems that reduce the inmate's capacity to function appropriately in society.

The RSAT treatment components will include assessment, individualized treatment planning, individual and group counseling, and urinalysis screenings. The programs will continue to consist of three phrases: (1) education/orientation; (2) treatment; and (3) transition care. Inmates will participate in the RSAT program for six to twelve months depending upon individual treatment needs and the time remaining on their sentence before release to the community. Time spent in each phase may vary for each individual and will be based on their progress and treatment plans. The education phase will provide the inmate with a comprehensive clinical assessment as well as substance abuse education and an orientation to the therapeutic community process.

For both programs, the transition phase will prepare the inmate for the reintegration into their home community with aftercare referrals for treatment and support systems, safe housing, and other community connections and referrals. For female and male inmates, and whenever possible following treatment, furlough will be made to a halfway house where other graduates of the RSAT program reside. The graduates will support each other in their recovery, thus increasing the probability of their continued success. It is expected that the RSAT program will disrupt the cycle of addiction and recidivism for those inmates who have failed in less intensive treatment modalities.

NCA/NCF