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These findings represent the critical components in the Washington/Baltimore High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program (W/B HIDTA), a project sponsored by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the University of Maryland at College Park. The W/B HIDTA project moves away from the rhetoric of coordinating and collaborating services to creating systemic processes that integrate decision-making in the treatment and criminal justice systems. The goal is to engage the public health and criminal justice systems in restructuring services to achieve the desired goal of reducing criminal behavior and substance abuse among hard-core offenders. (Footnote)

Table 1 illustrates the changes in policies and practices as a result of the emphasis on systemic practices. The results of these changes have been a 12 percent rearrest rate for offenders after nine months of supervision and an 85 percent retention rate in treatment services for hard-core offenders. The typical HIDTA offender has had nine prior rearrests and five prior convictions; 56 percent of HIDTA offenders have had prior treatment experience and 69 percent self-report using drugs at least once a day.

A seamless system is built on principles of integrated service delivery systems. Integration refers to the need for criminal justice and treatment systems to share decision-making at critical junctures in the treatment process -- assessment, placement, treatment/supervision, transition and discharge.

These steps are based on the experiences of 12 jurisdictions that effectively use scarce treatment and criminal justice resources.

"To Improved Offender Outcomes: Developing Responsive Systems for Substance-Abusing Offenders."
Introduction
The vast number of studies over the last 20 years have clearly demonstrated that drug treatment is a powerful tool in the "war on drugs" in all correctional settings. While the criminal justice system has focused on programs (boot camps, drug courts, jail and prison treatment, day reporting, etc.), the lack of systemic policies and practices undermines efforts to provide wide-spread and effective treatment services in all domains of correctional control. It also prevents offenders from receiving continuing services as they move through the criminal justice system.
Effective Practices
To have an impact on drug use and criminal behavior, the positive results from research studies must be institutionalized. This will occur only if the following effective practices are put into place: Ensuring that clients are placed in appropriate services based on managing the clinical needs of the offender as well as the risk to the community. Providing treatment services for a sufficient duration to affect behavior change. Addressing the problem of noncompliance by using the leverage of the criminal justice system to retain the offender in appropriate treatment services. Packaging criminal justice and clinical treatment services into an intervention that monitors progress and addresses relapses or potential risks.
Goal: Restructuring Services
These findings represent the critical components in the Washington/Baltimore High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program (W/B HIDTA), a project sponsored by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the University of Maryland at College Park. The W/B HIDTA project moves away from the rhetoric of coordinating and collaborating services to creating systemic processes that integrate decision-making in the treatment and criminal justice systems. The goal is to engage the public health and criminal justice systems in restructuring services to achieve the desired goal of reducing criminal behavior and substance abuse among hard-core offenders. (Footnote) Table 1 illustrates the changes in policies and practices as a result of the emphasis on systemic practices. The results of these changes have been a 12 percent rearrest rate for offenders after nine months of supervision and an 85 percent retention rate in treatment services for hard-core offenders. The typical HIDTA offender has had nine prior rearrests and five prior convictions; 56 percent of HIDTA offenders have had prior treatment experience and 69 percent self-report using drugs at least once a day. A seamless system is built on principles of integrated service delivery systems. Integration refers to the need for criminal justice and treatment systems to share decision-making at critical junctures in the treatment process -- assessment, placement, treatment/supervision, transition and discharge. These steps are based on the experiences of 12 jurisdictions that effectively use scarce treatment and criminal justice resources.
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