NCJ Number
180287
Date Published
1999
Length
41 pages
Annotation
This report summarizes a conference held in Albany, N.Y., on June 28-30, 1999; the conference examined issues, policies, problems, and successful and planned collaboration among agencies related to criminal justice and drug abuse, with emphasis on public safety, alcohol and other drug treatment, welfare reform, and managed care.
Abstract
More than 600 people attended the conference, which featured 98 speakers. Speakers noted that collaboration among managed care, criminal justice, and welfare reform agencies is essential to success in welfare reform; that New York State has the largest and most diversified drug treatment and drug prevention system in the country; and that research reveals that mandated treatment is effective, whether mandated by the spouse, the employer, or fear of punishment. They also emphasized that the treatment, welfare, and managed care systems must understand the public safety issues that concern criminal justice officials, just as criminal justice officials need to recognize the elements of effective treatment based on research and practice. Additional topics included the role of prosecutors in criminal justice decisions related to criminally involved drug abusers, the important of treatment-offender matching, the emphasis on teamwork rather than on individual agencies in Albany County (N.Y.), and efforts to establish alternatives to imprisonment for drug-abusing offenders. Further topics included laws and regulations, the need to bridge the gap between child welfare and drug abuse, clients' rights in relation to managed care, obtaining and maintaining employment for offenders and drug abusers, drug courts, domestic violence courts, and the use of database technology to improve communication within and between agencies. Summaries of county-level collaborations and lists of resources and acronyms