Pubdate: Wed, 30 May 2001
Source: Oregonian, The (OR)
Copyright: 2001 The Oregonian
Contact:  http://www.oregonlive.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/324
Author: Wayne Scott
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/bush.htm (Bush, George)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

WELCOME NEWS ON TWO FRONTS IN 'WAR ON DRUGS'

Multnomah County Offers An Integrated Approach That Models New Thinking

President Bush asked his secretary of Health and Human Services to 
analyze how to close the treatment gap for citizens who need help for 
drug problems.

Promising "unprecedented attention on the demand side" of the drug 
problem, Bush has targeted $1.6 billion over the next five years to 
reduce the gap between those needing treatment and available 
programs. He heralded "a thoughtful and integrated approach" between 
law enforcement and treatment professionals.

On the local front, the Oregon Senate unanimously approved Senate 
Bill 914, which would steer more nonviolent drug offenders into 
treatment programs rather than jail. The bill would allow someone 
pleading guilty to certain drug charges to be placed on probation and 
referred to treatment. Completion of treatment would erase criminal 
charges on the person's record.

Both steps are welcome news. For too long the "war on drugs," the 
dominant national strategy to end drug abuse, emphasized the role of 
law enforcement. A get-tough ideology, rather than scientific 
research, has driven our national problem-solving. Drug treatment, 
which has not been in vogue ideologically, has received comparatively 
less support.

At the same time, neither ideological stance offers a long-term 
solution. Researchers in the fields of corrections and treatment 
recognize that the most effective strategy to rehabilitate criminal 
drug addicts balances the hammer of the criminal justice system with 
intensive cognitive-behavioral treatment.

Multnomah County has been on the cutting edge of this integrated 
solution for some time. In November 1999, following a jail tax levy, 
the county initiated InterChange, a residential program for men who 
have failed at community drug treatment. InterChange is a pilot 
project for a 300-bed facility to open in 2003.

The program is innovative on several fronts. Although it is a 
treatment program, it is run by Multnomah County's Department of 
Community Justice, with a probation officer on staff. Field probation 
officers coax offenders to consent to the year-long program through 
structured sanctions, increasing their motivation by creating 
less-appealing alternatives, such as incarceration.

Once offenders enter treatment, they cannot easily leave. There is a 
lock on the door and a 'round-the-clock security presence. The lock 
exists to keep offenders, who are notorious for their impulsive 
decision-making, engaged in treatment. But InterChange is not a jail. 
Clients must consent to receive services and all staff, security and 
clinical, play a role in helping criminal addicts to change.

The results, even at this early stage, are encouraging.

One of the program's key goals is reducing anti-social thinking. A 
recent study by the county's Budget and Quality Office found a 
significant decrease in anti-social, criminal thinking in 39 men who 
had completed six months of treatment. Clients showed marked 
reductions in unfavorable attitudes toward police officers and 
judges, as well as modest but significant decreases in permissible 
attitudes toward violating the law.

In tandem with changing anti-social thinking, InterChange aims to 
reduce future criminal activity. The Budget and Quality Office did a 
comparison study of 54 males referred to residential treatment in the 
community and graduates of the InterChange program and found that 
InterChange graduates have a significantly lower likelihood of being 
arrested after treatment than similar men who finished residential 
treatment in the community.

While admittedly preliminary, these data are excellent promissory 
notes for the future. They show that a coordinated effort between two 
historically polarized groups can improve the impact that both groups 
have on rehabilitating addicted offenders.

But this is not the end goal. By breaking the revolving-door cycle of 
repeated incarcerations, drug treatment, married to the leverage of 
the criminal justice system, is ultimately a powerful, long-term 
solution to enhance the safety of our communities.

Wayne Scott is program manager at InterChange.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe