Expanding Funding For Alternatives For Incarceration Essay

Expanding Funding for Alternatives to Incarceration Many individuals in prison have mental health and addiction problems. The only way they can be helped is by our system offering lower-cost alternatives to incarceration to address the problem which led them to criminal activity. Studies have indicated that only 10% or fewer inmates received mental health care while incarcerated which in turn is costly and ineffective. Studies have shown it cost $1.8 billion to house mentally ill offenders whom return quickly to the correctional system because these systems lack aftercare planning and communities lack sufficient services to meet their needs. If correctional staff and programs in the community could expand services as well as provide better coordination then it could help stabilize mentally ill offenders in the community, cut down criminal activity and prevent the return to jail or prison. The more often an individual is incarcerated the more likely they are a substance abuser. Once the person is release from a lengthy sentence with no skills to address the addiction, it’s actually the same skills they had when entering the system. Its clear treatment is more effective because it has been proven that individuals will less likely be arrested, less likely to use drugs again as well as being more effective in reducing drug-related crime than incarceration (Reducing Recidivism by Expanding Funding for Alternatives to Incarceration, 2011). Community service The best alternativeShow MoreRelatedIllegal Substance Abuse And Addiction1196 Words   |  5 PagesAbuse determined the annual cost of drug addiction in the United States exceeds $600 billion. Unfortunately, for every dollar that goes towards combating abuse, only two cents of that goes towards treatment. The rest goes towards the cost of incarceration, hospital care, and the criminal court system (Drug Abuse Is Soaring, But Addiction Treatment Is Hard to Find). 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(Bainbridge, 5)With the expansion of Medicaid these block grants are expected to