Illinois Offers Community Based Substance Abuse Treatment for Former Inmates

The Illinois Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) is now accepting grant applications for the federal Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Program (RSAT).

The ICJIA has allocated $800,000 in grant funding to be used over a period of one year to support state and local governments in devising and establishing substance abuse treatment programs in correctional and detention facilities. The RSAT’s mission is to improve state and local government capacity to provide residential substance abuse treatment, as well as community-based aftercare services post incarceration to assist former inmates with reintegration into their individual communities.

These programs are intended to help steer inmates and former inmates suffering with substance abuse problems away from the criminal justice system by providing them with addiction treatment programs that can adequately assist with rehabilitation. This is also a means to combat the demand and use of illegal substances in order to reduce drug related crime and violence in communities.

All Illinois counties and state agencies are eligible to apply. Applicants can request funding under the categories below.

• Corrections-based substance use disorder treatment
• Jail-based substance use disorder treatment
• Aftercare services

Program Requirements

Programs created through this funding are required to do the following:

Corrections-Based Substance Use Disorder Treatment

• Work with participants for a period between six and 12 months. For this reason the ICJIA encourages applicants to choose participants with six to 12 months remaining for their incarceration rather than those who will be returning to a prison’s general population upon completing the program.
• Develop residential treatment facilities separate from the general correctional population.
• Focus on identifying substances being used by inmates and diagnosing addiction-related needs.
• Develop inmate cognitive, behavioral, social, vocational, and other skills to eliminate substance use and related problems.
• Use urinalysis and/or other substantiated forms of drug and alcohol testing for program participants and former participants who remain incarcerated, including both periodic and random testing.
• Help prepare participants for successful re-entry and provide post-release referrals to appropriate aftercare treatment and service providers that have medication-assisted treatment.

Jail-Based Substance Use Disorder Treatment

• Work with participants for a period of at least three months.
• Focus on identifying substances being used by inmates’ and diagnosing addiction-related needs.
• Develop the inmate’s cognitive, behavioral, social, and vocational skills to help eliminate substance use and related problems with emphasis on the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy.
• Use urinalysis and/or other substantiated forms of drug and alcohol testing for program participants and former participants who remain incarcerated, including both periodic and random testing.
• Help prepare participants for successful re-entry and provide post-release referrals to appropriate aftercare treatment and service providers that have medication-assisted treatment.
• If possible, develop residential treatment facilities separate from the general correctional population.

Aftercare Services

• Need to be coordinated between the correctional treatment programs, post-release supervision officers and other social service and rehabilitation programs and services.
• Work with state and local authorities and experienced organizations to place program participants into community-based substance abuse treatment programs or services after release.
• Provide former inmates with comprehensive care coordination prior to and upon release.

The deadline to apply is October 31, 2019. Application materials should be sent here.