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AA to Zoom, substance abuse treatment goes online amid pandemic

Matt Richtel

November 28, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous are turning to Zoom and other telehealth tools to maintain a connection with clients during the coronavirus pandemic. While data are lacking about "the effectiveness of online rehabilitation compared to in-person sessions," many participants have expressed the digital tools to be crucial to their health while the pandemic has closed in-person options, and health professionals expect these tools to extend well-beyond the timeline of the pandemic.

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Alternative sentencing program offers resources for recovery rather than jail time

Katie Ellington

November 23, 2020 |

Richland Source |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Mansfield, Ohio

The Richland County Community Alternative Center provides court-ordered drug and alcohol treatment in lieu of jail for people facing criminal charges related to their addiction. In 60-, 90-, or 120-day treatment terms, patients from across Ohio receive addiction counseling, therapy, work training, and other skills classes. Case managers help prepare people for re-entry when their sentence has been served. The center is run by the courts, which pay for treatment services, which makes it unusual.

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Program in Montrose County Helps Homeless Families Pursue Self-Sufficiency

Laura Palmisano

November 17, 2020 |

Mountain Grown Community Radio (KVNF) |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Olathe, Colorado

Haven House, a faith-based provider of transitional housing for families experiencing homelessness, offers a safe place to live while working to reunite families that face possible loss of child custody over their housing or substance-use status. Required classes in parenting and budgeting, plus job-search services and other classes, have helped more than 370 families over the past decade. Families, who often are referred to the program from the county's Child Protective Services agency, can remain at the house for up to two years if they comply with the rules.

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Biden embraces drug courts, but do they actually work?

Dan Adams

November 02, 2020 |

The Boston Globe |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Drug courts can help some people with serious drug problems who face serious criminal charges, if such court programs are run carefully, based on evidence-based approaches. But, too often, such courts – which push criminal defendants into treatment as an alternative to incarceration – can do more harm than good. The proof of drug courts' effectiveness is mixed, and fairly thin. Thousands of such courts exist, based on widespread political support for an approach seen as less punitive. But many critics say the courts' track record overall is weak and their approach can be just another form of punishment.

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Hanging on: Covid gave Louisiana's addiction patients life-saving drug treatment by phone

Christiaan Mader

October 28, 2020 |

The Current (Louisiana) |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Colfax, Louisiana

When the coronavirus pandemic caused organizations and businesses to shut their doors, some medical practices, such as facilities that treat addiction, found relief by moving to telehealth services. In Lousiana, "emergency changes to federal and state telehealth regulations" allowed patients to seek therapy and other services via telephone and video, which helped them avoid exposure to the virus, yet still access the care they needed.

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This Addiction Treatment Works. Why Is It So Underused?

Abby Goodnough

October 27, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A substance abuse program known as contingency management offers incentives to those who to stay in treatment and remain abstinent from the use of drugs. Although not all agree with the merits of the program and question the underlying morals of the concept, anecdotal accounts from participants and studies have shown that it can be "highly effective" in helping to treat substance abuse.

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Booking homeless Portlanders into jail is endless, expensive cycle that arrests don't curb, but housing does

Molly Harbarger Melissa Lewis

October 25, 2020 |

The Oregonian |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

Temporary housing providing drug treatment and other services to people experiencing homelessness appears to cut the chances that people arrested in Portland on minor charges will cycle repeatedly through the criminal justice system. In 2019, 250 people living in transitional housing were booked into jail, versus nearly 3,700 people still living on the streets. The rearrest rate for people living on the street is 87%, but 30 points lower for people with housing. Portland officials have been slow to provide alternatives to arrests and jail since a report in 2017 that most arrestees in Portland are homeless.

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Second Largest Police Force to Stop Criminalising Drug Users

Max Daly

October 16, 2020 |

Vice |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

Four UK police forces have adopted drug-decriminalization policies over the past five years, diverting hundreds of cases toward treatment and harm-reduction counseling, and away from criminal convictions, fines, and incarceration. The policies, which apply even in cases involving heroin and cocaine, have been found to reduce drug offenses and conserve police resources for more serious crime. Based on those programs, West Midlands, the second-largest police force in England and Wales, is launching a one-year pilot project aimed at diverting 1,500 people's cases away from the criminal process.

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A Special Court Keeping Native Americans Out of Jail

Lisa Bartfai

October 12, 2020 |

70 Million |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Penobscot Indian Island Reservation, Maine

The Penobscot Nation's Healing to Wellness Court is a drug court, diverting people charged with drug offenses from possible fines and jail into therapy. But it has an added cultural element, providing traditional healing approaches alongside mainstream behavioral therapy. The cultural piece recognizes that Native Americans' historical trauma and disconnect from their culture can contribute to the problems that lead to addiction. The court is far less expensive than jail or prison, and its participants have not been jailed for failing treatment in more than two years.

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Health on Wheels: Tricked-Out RVs Deliver Addiction Treatment to Rural Communities

Markian Hawryluk

September 28, 2020 |

Kaiser Health News |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Sterling, Colorado

Because access to addiction treatment is difficult in rural communities, a state program in Colorado has allowed for RV's to be turned into mobile clinics, which has proved especially useful during the coronavirus pandemic. Not only do the mobile clinics offer services such as testing, but they also provide internet access for patients who need to connect with a doctor.

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