FY 2010 RSAT Program

The Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) for State Prisoners Program assists states and local governments to develop and implement substance abuse treatment programs in state and local correctional and detention facilities and to create and maintain community-based aftercare services for offenders. The goal of the RSAT Program is to break the cycle of drugs and violence by reducing the demand for, use, and trafficking of illegal drugs. RSAT enhances the capability of states and units of local government to provide residential substance abuse treatment for incarcerated inmates; prepares offenders for their reintegration into the communities from which they came by incorporating reentry planning activities into treatment programs; and assists offenders and their communities through the reentry process through the delivery of community-based treatment and other broad-based aftercare services. RSAT funds may be used to implement three types of programs: residential, jail-based, and aftercare. At least 10 percent of the total state allocation for FY 2010 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.

The Virgin Islands Law Enforcement Planning Commission (VILEPC) will use the FY 2010 RSAT funds to support the Bureau of Corrections' Virgin Islands Residential Substance Abuse (VIRSAT) program at the Golden Grove Correctional Facility. The program will use the funds to continue to provide drug rehabilitation services in a set-aside residential treatment facility. The VIRSAT program will include: (a) random urinalysis; (b) individual and group counseling; (c) general education; (d) self-esteem development; (e) cognitive, behavioral and social skills development; (f) career and technical education; and (g) aftercare.

The residential phase of the program is designed to last for a minimum of twenty-four weeks and a maximum of fifty-two weeks. Inmates may volunteer for participation, be recommended by the institution medical/psychological staff or be ordered by the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands. The goal of the VIRSAT program is to break the cycle of drugs and violence by intervention in the dysfunctional and addictive behavior of the inmates in the Virgin Islands prison system. The program is expected to: (1) reduce the recidivism rate of participants who complete treatment; (2) reduce post-release substance abuse among inmates completing treatment; (3) enhance the education, life, management, vocational, and parenting skill of participants to improve their ability to reintegrate into the community from which the came; (4) begin the incorporation of the reentry planning process into treatment; and (5) deliver community based treatment and aftercare services.

NCA/NCF