A large proportion of people in the criminal justice system have substance addictions: a Bureau of Justice Statistics study found, for example, that nearly 60 percent of people in state prisons and two-thirds of people in jail met the criteria for “drug dependence or abuse.” While there is an overwhelming need to provide effective treatment, challenges exist in quantifying the extent of that need, providing appropriate treatment programming, and taking a strategic approach across systems.

This article from The Council of State Governments Justice Center, the sixth in a series of posts on aspects of successful reentry, outlines prioritizing treatment for substance addictions as an aspect of successful reentry.

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