Office Of Substance Abuse Treatment Services

Effective substance abuse treatment is critical to California’s efforts to reduce the number of inmates who return to a life of crime.  The Office of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (OSATS), formerly the Division of Addiction and Recovery Services, provides substance abuse treatment and recovery services to inmates and parolees. 

Program Goals

• Reduce recidivism through evidence-based, gender responsive programs that address substance use behaviors and criminogenic risks and needs.

• Increase participation in community aftercare substance abuse programs by promoting its value to in-prison populations and ensuring the successful linkage between in-prison programs and community aftercare.

• Implement evidence-based practices in in-prison and aftercare programs and respond to recommendations from treatment experts.

Streamlined Substance Abuse Treatment Models

Three-month Treatment Model

To meet the new budget reality CDCR has developed a streamlined rehabilitation model sharply focused on reducing recidivism and reaching as many offenders as possible with less funding. A three-month treatment model for male inmates was phased in at nine prisons to replace CDCR’s previous 6-36 month programs. The shorter treatment model enables CDCR to still serve 8,450 inmates with substance abuse treatment annually. The department’s new model was developed in consultation with the UC San Diego, Center for Criminality & Addiction Research, Training & Application.

Inmates are receiving services near the end of their confinement and are encouraged to complete community treatment upon release — a combination that significantly reduces recidivism. The return-to-prison rate for offenders who completed both in-prison and community-based substance abuse treatment in FY 2005-06 was 35.3 percent after two years compared to 54.2 percent for all CDCR offenders.

Gender-responsive Programs for Women Open in Three Additional Prisons

In January, 2010 an innovative program to address the unique challenges women offenders face in overcoming substance abuse was launched at Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) in Chowchilla, the Valley State Prison for Women (VSPW) and the California Institution for Women. The Trauma-Informed Substance Abuse Treatment Program (TI-SAT) for female inmates offers gender-responsive services to reduce substance abuse relapse and recidivism. » See "CDCR Opens Trauma Informed Substance Program for Women at Three Additional Prisons"

Additional Achievements

Launched the first-of-its-kind program certifying long-term inmates as alcohol and drug counselors, the Offender Mentor Certification Program,to help other inmates recover, at California State Prison, Solano in 2009. Launched subsequent program for women at Valley State Prison for Women in 2010. See "Valley State Prison for Women Graduates First Class of Alcohol and Drug Counselors."

Demonstrated with the most recent data which followed offenders who paroled in 2005-06 for a one-year and a two-year period that the recidivism rate was reduced for offenders who completed in-prison substance abuse treatment programs - with a more substantial reduction in recidivism for offenders completing an in-prison substance abuse program followed by a community-based substance abuse treatment program. See OSATS Recidivism Rates.

Programs and Services

Programs Available to Inmates

• In-Prison Substance Abuse Programs (SAPs).  SAPs are designed to create an extended exposure to a continuum of services during incarceration and facilitate a successful re-entry into community living.  These services, provided in both female and male institutions, include substance abuse treatment and recovery services; social, cognitive and behavioral counseling; life skills training; health-related education; and relapse prevention.
  

Community-Based Programs Available to Parolees -- Voluntary: 

• Community-Based Substance Abuse Programs.  OSATS administers community-based substance abuse treatment programs (also referred to as “continuing care” or “aftercare”) for parolees. Research has shown that inmates completing in-prison and continuing community-based care programs are significantly less likely to return to prison. These programs provide continuing care services through the Substance Abuse Services Coordination Agencies (SASCA). There are four SASCAs, one in each parole region. SASCAs refer, place, and track parolees in continuing care programs. SASCAs also provide transportation from prison to treatment facilities.

• Female Offender Treatment and Employment Program (FOTEP).  The goal of FOTEP is to reduce recidivism through a continuation of intensive substance use treatment, family reunification, vocational training, and employment services. This program offers gender-responsive counseling services, job preparation to women who have completed a substance abuse program in prison.  Women parolees receive up to fifteen months of residential treatment services and are allowed up to two minor children to reside with them during their participation in the program.

• Parolee Services Network (PSN).  This network provides community-based alcohol and drug abuse treatment for eligible parolees (felons and civil addicts) who may or may not have participated in a SAP, but who have substance abuse problems.  The PSN is a partnership between CDCR and the Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs.  PSN programs provide community alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services to parolees in 17 counties statewide.  These programs provide up to 180 days of treatment and recovery services and are designed to support parolee reintegration into society by encouraging a clean and sober lifestyle.

• The In-Custody Drug Treatment Program (ICDTP).  The ICDTP is a 150 day program and provides two separate and distinct treatment programming options: Program I is comprised of 60 days county jail time followed by 30 days of residential community based aftercare treatment followed by an additional 60 days in residential, outpatient and/or sober living environment or a combination of these modalities. Program II is comprised of 90 days of residential community based aftercare treatment followed by an additional 60 days in residential, outpatient and/or sober living environment or a combination of these modalities. Outpatient treatment programming may include self-help programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), and other aftercare services.

• Senate Bill 1453.  Eligible in-custody Substance Abuse Program participants may complete 150 days of residential, community-based substance abuse treatment as a voluntary condition of their parole. Eligible inmates include non-serious, non-violent, non-sex offenders who meet other criteria and who complete an in-prison Substance Abuse Program. Parolees who successfully complete the prescribed 150 days of residential continuing care treatment are discharged from parole. 

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