In-Depth
Community Supervision Challenges for Populations with SUD
Providing community supervision to individuals who are dealing with substance use disorder (SUD) can be a significant challenge for states and local jurisdictions. The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) created the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) to help tackle the challenge. COSSAP recently released a brief exploring common challenges faced by states and community supervision programs when serving populations dealing with SUD. The challenges are numerous, but each fell into three main categories.
One: “Addressing divergent views on public safety risks through cross-agency coordination and partnership.”
A roundtable of state officials noted that public safety is often defined differently by corrections and behavioral health stakeholders. The different definitions can lead to difficulty communicating and impede program success through a lack of coordination.
Two: “Ensuring access to community-based SUD treatment.”
While many states have expanded and implemented SUD treatment programs in facilities, ensuring SUD care in the community continues to be problematic. The brief identifies two main challenges. One, “for individuals released from a facility to community supervision, there is often a delay in connection to treatment upon entering the community,” increasing the risk of relapse, overdose, and other risky behaviors. Two, many people are sentenced directly to probation; however, not all probation programs are efficiently equipped to screen and assess for SUD leading to treatment gaps.
Three: “Implementing evidence-based practices for community supervision that align with SUD treatment goals.”
The brief authors assert that “implement[ing] evidence-based supervision practices that align requirements with treatment goals” remains a pressing need and that “understanding the unique needs of individuals with SUD” has proven to be a challenge for many supervision programs. Adding, that this issue is exacerbated for programs serving marginalized communities where access to treatment options can be limited.
The brief also explored opportunities states and programs could implement to address the challenges. The opportunities discussed included:
- Increasing Cross-Agency Coordination
- Addressing Funding Gaps by Braiding and Blending Federal and State Funds
- Leveraging Grant Resources and Looking to Innovative Strategies
- Identifying Treatment Gaps and Utilizing Innovative Strategies for Treatment Access
- Aligning Supervision Policies and Practices With Treatment Goals
At the end of the brief, COSSAP notes they have Resource Center with “additional resources on these topics and opportunities for technical assistance and support.”
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