Monday, March 07, 2005

Treating Inmates' Drug Use Cost-Effective in Long Run Psychiatric News story - "While treating inmates for substance abuse problems is expensive, it is less expensive than leaving them untreated when the costs associated with recidivism are factored in. Inmates in Connecticut prisons who received substance abuse treatment while incarcerated were significantly less likely to be rearrested, thus resulting in reduced costs to taxpayers. This is the major finding from a study conducted by researchers from Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., who estimated that cost savings associated with providing substance abuse treatment of inmates ranged from $20,098 to $37,605 per prisoner, depending on the type of substance abuse treatment program implemented. The results of the study appeared in the February Journal of Offender Rehabilitation."  
  

Increase in prison suicides blamed on understaffing, poor health care (New York) AP story at Newsday - "The state correction officers' union says understaffing and poor mental health care contributed to an increase in prisoner suicides last year. 'You have a generalized staff shortage that's quite serious and, on top of that, you have a crisis on how the mental health issues are handled,' said Wayne Meyers, president of Local 1565 of the American Federal of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents 2,500 state prison guards. According to state Correction Department reports on seven inmate suicides last year, the agency determined that guards falsified log books at least two times, responded slowly to some suicide attempts and, according to prisoners, were grossly indifferent to human life in some cases."