Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • Drug court – giving families a chance to break the cycle of opioid use

    In Washington County, Virginia, a drug court modeled after the federal drug court model is offering opioid addicts a chance to follow a strict program intended to help keep them sober as an alternative to incarceration. Participants are required to maintain full-time employment, subjected to random drug tests, attend mandatory therapy groups, and abide by a curfew. The program is helping addicts maintain sobriety throughout the duration of their enrollment in drug court instead of sending them to prison where they are less likely to have access to these types of addiction services.

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  • ‘We can't just keep doing what we've been doing': King County tries risky alternative to youth jail

    As Seattle’s Central District continues plans to expand their juvenile detention center, one prosecutor is looking for ways to keep kids out of it. "Our system has proven woefully inadequate, so we can’t just keep doing what we’ve been doing," explains Jimmy Hung, the prosecutor behind this hope. Hung, in partnership with the chief deputy prosecutor, faith workers, police officers and the director of King County’s juvenile detention center are now piloting peace circles with incoming detained juveniles with a goal of seeing a behavior and lifestyle switch.

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  • In Kentucky, jail is becoming an addict's last-resort rehab

    In Kentucky, substance abuse issues are now being addressed within the prison setting. This Kentucky prison created a comprehensive drug treatment program, including a full experiential component as well as vivitrol opportunities, to curb addiction issues.

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  • Courts That Save Opioid Victims' Family Life

    The rampant opioid epidemic tearing through communities across the United States is exacerbated by a rigid court system that fails to address individual needs and a severe lack of comprehensive treatment options, even for those who want to get clean. Family Treatment Court, like the one in Chautauqua County, N.Y., provides parents who are addicts an innovative intervention program that includes a broad range of custom-tailored services to permanently quit their drug use and keep their families together.

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  • How to Win a War on Drugs

    By addressing drug addiction as a medical—rather than criminal—issue, Portugal has been able to reduce drug use as well as deaths caused by drugs. Strategies implemented include decriminalization, increased access to treatment, changes in prescribing patterns related to opioids, and ‘dissuasion’ courts.

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  • Let down and locked up: Why Oklahoma's female incarceration is so high

    Oklahoma currently locks up more women than any other state in the country, incarcerating females at more than double the national rate, and harshly deals out ever-longer sentences to prisoners, disproportionately targeting poor women and those of color. Tulsa is the one exception, thanks to a charitably-funded, intensive programs like The Education and Employment Ministry and Women in Recovery, which combine shorter prison terms with rehabilitative treatment and supportive probation, including drug addiction recovery, employment assistance, and life skills classes.

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  • The Latest Trend in Reducing Recidivism: Keeping Mothers and Children Together

    Most states and cities don’t permits mothers who give birth in prison to stay with their children. However, scattered across the country are programs like ReMerge, a program in Oklahoma City that allows mother and children to stay together, and avoid prison time. Programs like these are working, and yield lower recidivism rates.

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  • How Philly plans to ditch cash bail and what stands in the way

    A candidate for district attorney in Philadelphia is pushing to do away with cash bail entirely as other places have done, including Washington D.C., and New Jersey. Both of those places have seen their jail populations drop, and Philadelphia has taken some initial steps that reduce pre-trial populations in jail, but it faces a number of challenges in implementing no-cash bail. Those include getting widespread buy-in and a conservative legislature.

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  • Wilmington's Solution to the Opioid Crisis

    The opioid crisis has resulted in numerous addictions, overdoses and deaths, leading North Carolina to reassess how they are handling the crisis. A rapid-response team checks on users after being given naloxone, health-care navigators will help users get treatment, and individuals will be sent to treatment instead of prison.

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  • Justice, Restored? New North Lawndale Court Aims to Change Punitive System

    A new restorative justice court in a Chicago neighborhood shows promise in bringing healing to the community through having defendants repair harm they’ve done and reintegrate into the community. It has support from key members of the criminal justice system but it faces funding issues and getting buyin from the community. Some argue restorative justice cannot operate effectively within the existing criminal justice system.

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