2010 Washington State Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (WA 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 state of Washington will use the FY 2010 RSAT funds to operate the Washington State Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Program. The RSAT program provides residential substance abuse treatment for offenders currently incarcerated in prison facilities of the State's Department of Corrections and in approved county and regional correctional facilities. The grant funds will allow for the operation of the program, bringing the corrections community at the state Department of Corrections (DOC) and local level (regional and county jails) together to work collaboratively with the chemical dependency treatment services community. The goals of this joint effort are to assess, counsel, educate, transition, and monitor addicted offenders, helping them reenter the society as drug-free and prepared for productive, crime and violence-free life-styles. Some specific project goals for the WA RSAT program are to: (1) prepare offenders for reintegration back into the community by incorporating re-entry planning activities into treatment programs; (2) enhance the capability of state prisons and units of local government correctional facilities by providing residential substance abuse treatment programs for incarcerated inmates; and (3) assist both the offenders and the community through the re-entry process by delivering both community-based treatment and broad-based aftercare services. Program activities will include the use of an inmate risk assessment tool that will track offender substance abuse successes, social skills, education, training opportunities, and employment readiness. Additionally, the tool will provide mental health, criminal behavior, correctional, and violent behavior screening.

NCA/NCF