Today's issue: TASC COO interviewed about the role of family in recovery ; nine-state summit focuses on fighting opioid epidemic; IL justice reforms signed into law; & more.
HEALTH & JUSTICE IN THE NEWS
Date: August 25, 2016
 

New on TASC's Blog

Addiction Today Radio Interviews TASC's Peter Palanca about Family Role in Addiction Recovery
TASC Blog, 8/25/16
TASC Executive Vice President Peter Palanca was the featured guest on the August 20 Addiction Today radio program, where he offered information for families of individuals in early recovery. Hosted by veteran broadcaster Russ Morley, the 30-minute show delved into the hopes, expectations, and experiences of family members after a loved one completes treatment. Families sometimes assume that once a person is in treatment, the problem is fixed, and everyone can get on with their lives. "As a matter of fact, they just wait until that treatment episode is finished so that they can have their son or their daughter, or their spouse or their partner back," said Palanca. "The fact is, that's just not how it works, and it's important to recognize that... One of the things that recovery certainly can do is it can help to restore hope, and it can help to restore trust, and it can help to restore confidence in relationships within the family," he said. "However, that doesn't happen overnight... That's why it's referred to as recovery, not recovered." There is a difference between treatment and recovery, Palanca added.
 
 
Around the Nation  

Summit focuses on coordinating efforts to fight drug epidemic
AP, 8/24/16
State Supreme Court justices and other high-ranking officials huddled Wednesday to discuss ways to coordinate efforts to battle the drug use epidemic in a judicial summit involving some of the hardest-hit states. Federal and state authorities and private sector experts planned to provide briefings to the court officials. What's called the Regional Judicial Opioid Initiative is meant to begin continuing regional planning and action on opioid use, mainly from prescription painkillers and heroin. The states participating are Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia were among the five states with the highest rates of drug overdose deaths in 2014, while Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia were among 14 states that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified with significant drug overdose death rate increases from 2013 to 2014. [TASC is a participant in this initiative. TASC CEO, Pam Rodriguez, as well as Maureen McDonnell, Director for Business and Health Care Strategy Development at TASC, and Jac Charlier, TASC's Director of Consulting and Training, are taking part in this event].
 
Bail Reformers Aren't Waiting for Bail Reform
The Marshall Project, 8/23/16
The nationwide movement for bail reform is advancing, gradually, through legislatures and courts. Just last week the U.S. Department of Justice filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing for the first time at this level that putting people in jail because of their inability to pay bail is unconstitutional. Meanwhile, bail reform advocates increasingly are taking direct action: raising charitable funds they use to put up bail for people too poor to pay their way out of jail. Most proponents of bail funds see their work as a form of political resistance, using charity to chip away at a system they believe should not depend on money. The American Bail Coalition, a trade group for insurance companies that underwrite bail, is considering setting up a charitable bail fund of its own. This represents a change of tune for an industry that has repeatedly denied that bail often leaves poor people languishing in jail while the well-to-do go home. Critics of bail suspect the insurance companies' fund, if it materializes, is part of a public relations campaign to soften the industry's image and slow the pace of serious reforms.
Related: "Unconstitutional to Jail Poor Defendants Who Can't Pay Bail, Feds Argue" (Newsweek, 8/20/16): http://www.newsweek.com/unconstitutional-jail-poor-cant-pay-bail-492144
Related: "Insurance Companies May Set Up Charitable Fund for Bail" (The Crime Report, 8/24/16): http://thecrimereport.org/2016/08/24/insurance-companies-may-set-up-charitable-fund-for-bail/
 
Sept. 23 CCCN Webinar Highlighting Hawaii's Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE)
National Institute of Corrections
The Community Corrections Collaborative Network (CCCN) will be hosting a live webinar event with federal partners and national and local experts to highlight Hawaii's Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE), a collaborative strategy among the court, probation, prosecutors, defense, law enforcement and community treatment providers to effect positive behavioral changes in people on probation.
 
 
Around Illinois  

Rauner signs justice reforms: 'People deserve redemption'
Chicago Sun-Times, 8/22/16
Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday signed into law five bills aimed at changing the state's criminal justice system to help young people avoid incarceration - or to help people who end up behind bars get back on their feet once they're released. One of the bills seeks to keep people convicted of low-level offenses out of prison by requiring an explanation from judges of why incarceration is appropriate for people with no prior probation or prison sentences. One of the bills seeks to keep low-level offenders out of prison by requiring an explanation from judges of why incarceration is appropriate for people with no prior probation or prison sentences. Rauner also signed into law a bill that allows people under the age of 18 to immediately petition the court for expungement when he or she is charged with an offense that is dismissed without a finding of delinquency. Another bill requires the Illinois Department of Corrections and the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice to reduce the rate they can contract for telephone providers. A separate bill signed Monday changes a law stating that park districts could not employ any person convicted of certain drug offenses.
Related: "Rauner signs juvenile justice reform bills" (Chicago Tribune, 8/22/16): http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-bruce-rauner-criminal-justice-met-20160822-story.html
Related: "Bipartisan criminal justice reform bills become law" (Illinois News Network, 8/23/16): http://ilnews.org/9486/bipartisan-criminal-justice-reform-bills-become-law/
Related: "It Just Got Easier For People With Criminal Records To Get A License To Work In Illinois" (WBEZ, 8/22/16): https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/it-just-got-easier-for-people-with-criminal-records-to-get-a-license-to-work-in-illinois/8bb5dcc4-1c3e-4acd-bdde-8f1b1ff0e43b
 
Press Release: HHS Office of Minority Health awards $2.4 million to support re-entry programs
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, 8/24/16
The Office of Minority Health (OMH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced new grant awards totaling approximately $2.4 million to seven organizations to improve the health outcomes for minority and/or disadvantaged individuals in transition from jail to their communities. Northwestern University, (Doreen Salina, Ph.D., Principal Investigator), will receive $375,000 for Year One to support efforts to improve the health outcomes for minority and/or disadvantaged re-entrants, ages 18-26, in transition from jail to their communities. This is a five year initiative. Through this program, entitled "Rethink & Relink Chicago!", Northwestern University and Dr. Salina have formed a collaboration with Heartland Human Care Services (HHCS). They will work to connect the re-entry population to community-based organizations that provide links to health care, including behavioral health care services, health care coverage, and social services such as housing, adult education, and employment assistance programs.
 
 
Research, Reports, and Studies  

Pretrial Detention Linked To Increase In Guilty Pleas, Drop In Employment: Study
International Business Times, 8/22/16
Just days after the Justice Department argued that U.S. courts' "bail-or-jail" policies discriminate against poor defendants, a new study by researchers from the National Bureau of Economic Research has established a causal relationship between the practice of pretrial detention and unfavorable case outcomes.
Report: "The Effects of Pre-Trial Detention on Conviction, Future Crime, and Employment: Evidence from Randomly Assigned Judges" (The National Bureau of Economic Research, 8/2016): http://www.nber.org/papers/w22511
 
 
Youth  

Pediatric group says doctors should use medication to treat teens who are addicted to opioids
USA Today, 8/22/16
Studies show that treating opioid addiction with buprenorphine and other forms of "medication-assisted treatment," such as methadone, cut the risk of death in half from all causes - from overdoses to car accidents. The American Academy of Pediatrics urged its members Monday to consider prescribing buprenorphine or other medicines to treat opioid addiction. If pediatricians don't prescribe the drugs themselves, they should refer patients to doctors who do.
 
 
Health & Justice in the News is a summary of recent news stories relating to criminal justice, mental health, addiction, recovery, and related issues. It is compiled and published by TASC each Monday and Thursday.
 
Some headlines and text have been altered by TASC for clarity or emphasis, or to minimize discriminatory or stigmatizing language. Opinions in the articles and op-eds do not necessarily express the views of TASC or our staff or partners.

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