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HEALTH & JUSTICE IN THE NEWS
Date: August 21, 2017
TASC in the News
Illinois Program Offers a Room for That First Night Out of Jail
The Wall Street Journal, 8/18/17
The Supportive Release Center is a new facility near Cook County Jail. It connects newly released people who are considered high risk-such as those facing homelessness, mental health issues or drug addiction-with social services while they plan their next steps. The center is a partnership between the University of Chicago's Health Lab, two nonprofit social services agencies-Heartland Health Outreach and Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities-and the Cook County Sheriff's office. Researchers from the University of Chicago plan are studying the model's effectiveness by looking at the recidivism rate of those who go through the center, compared with those who have had no such intervention upon release. "The first 24 hours is most critical for them," says Nadia Turner, a TASC case manager. "We have to see where their head is at, connect with them and assess what they need." The center then connects the person to an appropriate service, such as a shelter for someone in need of a home, or a drug rehabilitation facility for someone with addiction. "I hate that I had to be locked up to find out about these services," said a recent client. "But it is the best thing I've got going in my life right now."
Family Recovery and Reunification Program
Addiction Policy Forum, 8/17/17
Under the leadership of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), the Family Recovery and Reunification Program (also known as the "Recovery Coach Program") helps families in which children have been removed from the custody of one or both parents and placed into foster care because of substance use-related abuse or neglect. The goal of the program is to reunify families when parents can provide a safe and drug-free home for their children. Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC) case managers engage parents in treatment and other services needed to achieve recovery and family unity, including parenting classes, individual and family counseling, and assistance in finding housing and employment. Through TASC's intensive outreach and case management, the program helps achieve family reunification more often and more quickly. "With the rise in heroin use and opioid addiction across the country, more children are being removed from their homes and placed in foster care. By working with systems to address complex issues around addiction, initiatives such as the Family Recovery and Reunification program make is possible to heal families and safely return children to their homes," said TASC President Pamela F. Rodriguez.
New on TASC's Blog
TASC, National Judicial College Offer Self-Study Courses on Addiction for Criminal Justice Practitioners
TASC Blog, 8/21/17
In the face of a national opioid crises, and recognizing that most people entering the justice system have recently used illicit drugs and/or have a substance use disorder, the Center for Health and Justice at TASC and the National Judicial College (NJC) have co-developed three new self-study courses to support justice leaders in implementing evidence-based responses to help stop cycles of drug use and crime. These free, online courses provide timely information and practical solutions offered by top national researchers in addiction and criminal justice. They were created as a result of TASC's and NJC's collaborative work in leading the Justice Leaders Systems Change Initiative (JLSCI), which supports jurisdictions across the country in leveraging local resources to create and implement collaborative responses to substance use disorders. These courses offered are The Neuroscience of Addiction, Evidence-Based Sentencing for Drug Offenders, and Medication-Assisted Treatment.
Around the Nation
Police try out new database for documenting opioid overdoses
Fox News | AP, 8/14/17
Police in Massachusetts are testing a new database for documenting opioid overdoses they hope will help departments share information in real time and get people into treatment. The database was developed by criminal justice experts Sean Varano at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, and Pam Kelley with Kelley Research Associates in Massachusetts. It works like this: When a department is called to an overdose, it's recorded in the system. The system then alerts the department to do a follow-up outreach visit. If the victim is from a neighboring community, that police department is notified. The 27 police departments in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, are using it. They have all agreed that within 24 hours of a nonfatal overdose, a non-uniformed officer and recovery coach will go to the person's house to discuss treatment and offer resources to their family.
Program Aims to Help Indiana Soldiers With Substance Use
U.S. News & World Report | AP, 8/16/17
A new program in Indiana aims to help National Guard soldiers struggling with substance use. Fairbanks Hospital, Community Health Network and the Indiana National Guard announced the "Mission: Recovery" initiative Tuesday, the Indianapolis Star reported. It aims to help guard members without veterans insurance benefits find the care they need in a place that understands their military background. Staff members at Fairbanks Hospital have received training in military culture in order to help understand service members. Training included learning basic military vocabulary and learning about military life. The program is designed to focus on the unique needs of service members, said Major Scott Edwards, behavioral health officer for the Indiana National Guard. "We need places where we can send our people and know they will get the care they need," he said.
Colorful portraits show faces of New Hampshire drug crisis
Associated Press, 8/16/17
At the New Hampshire State Library's latest art exhibit, the bright smiles and bold colors of the canvases belied the broken hearts of those who attended its opening reception. More than 80 paintings are on display this month featuring the faces of the state's opioid epidemic. What started as one mother's private outlet for grief has grown into a larger effort to comfort others and reduce the stigma of addiction. "It really puts a face to the illness," said Heidi Maddock, of Newcastle, whose 32-year-old son, Jared, died in July 2016. She and her husband, Scott, attended the reception last week to see his portrait and dozens of others painted by Anne Marie Zanfagna.
Around Illinois
Illinois county vulnerable to disease outbreak among people who use injection drugs
Belleville News-Democrat, 8/18/17
A Southeastern Illinois county has several characteristics that put it at risk of an outbreak of HIV and Hepatitis C among people who use injection drugs, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hardin County, which sits on the Ohio River, ranked 68 out of 220 of the most vulnerable in the country based on factors related to the opioid epidemic. Hardin County was the only county from Illinois on the list. Most were from the central Appalachian Mountains of eastern Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and western West Virginia. The study, published in November, was written in the wake of an HIV outbreak in rural Scott County, Indiana, in which 181 people contracted the virus between November 2014 through October 2015.
Research, Reports, and Studies
New vaccine could someday fight the effects of opioid combinations
ScienceDaily, 8/21/17
Substance use is a continuing problem in the US, to the point of being an 'epidemic.' Now, scientists report that they have made progress toward a vaccine against the effects of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, in combination with heroin. The researchers are presenting their work today at the 254th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
Youth
Recent Rulings in 6 States Signal New Momentum for Ending Solitary for Youth
Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, 8/21/17
A nationwide shift toward abolishing solitary confinement for juveniles has surged ahead in recent months, with a half-dozen states either prohibiting or strictly limiting its use in their youth facilities. In just the past year, a series of strongly worded federal court decisions, new state laws and policy changes in Wisconsin, Tennessee, New York, California, Colorado, Connecticut and North Carolina have nearly eliminated "punitive" solitary - holding youth in isolation for long periods of time rather than briefly for safety purposes - from the juvenile justice system. It was already largely prohibited in at least 29 states, according to a July 2016 survey of policies in all states and the District of Columbia. The developments suggest that long-term isolation is rapidly losing ground as an accepted practice within the juvenile corrections profession, and that a child-specific definition of "cruel and unusual punishment" is now being established by courts across the country.
Opinions, Editorials, and Commentary
Dahleen Glanton: Race, the crack epidemic and the effect on today's opioid crisis
Chicago Tribune, 8/21/17
I remember another drug epidemic that began in the 1980s. Back then, we weren't so sensitive about what we called people who used crack cocaine. Families were torn apart at that time, too. Lives were cut short and a wealth of potential was lost on a generation of African-American youths. But no one seemed to care about those urban "crackheads." Unlike the heroin addicts creating today's opioid epidemic - which has had a disproportionate impact on white suburbanites and rural areas - black crack addicts were dispensable. To many politicians, they belonged in jail... Officials thought they could arrest their way out of the crack cocaine crisis and it would go away... [I]f America had shown less contempt and more compassion for crack addicts, we'd be way ahead of the game now in dealing with this scourge of opioid addiction. If crack addiction had been treated like a national crisis rather than a neighborhood vice, we'd have a better understanding today of how drugs spread through populations. We would know more about which treatments work and why some have a longer impact than others. Perhaps we might have even developed scientific methods that would help prevent drug addiction in the first place... New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who led a White House commission focused on addressing opioid addiction, recently issued a report to Congress that gives us some insight into why this particular epidemic is so urgent. Officials must address this, he said, to "awaken every American to this simple fact: if this scourge has not found you or your family yet, without bold action by everyone, it soon will." Too bad it took three decades to realize that.
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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