DRUG TREATMENT

Prison Alternative Now Deserves Senate Approval

The State House made a smart move in adding $700,000 to community drug
abuse treatment programs for nonviolent offenders.

The money, tacked onto the Department of Corrections budget, would pay for
about 50 more beds in Michigan's probation residential centers, which treat
drug offenders in nonsecure settings. The new beds would bring the total to
1,000.

The centers give judges another sentencing option than sending nonviolent
criminals to prison. Making such treatment a condition of probation is far
cheaper than spending $23,000 a year to lock them up in prison.

Residential probation centers cost the state about $43 a day for each
client, which adds up to $2,580 or $3,870 for a typical 60- or 90-day stay.
While on probation, offenders continue to work, which means many are paying
taxes and child support.

The program also addresses the link between drugs and crime. Roughly 12
percent of the state's nearly 50,000 inmates are in for drug-related
offenses, and most have a substance abuse problem.

A recent study by Columbia University -- "Shoveling Up: The Impact of
Substance Abuse on State Budgets" -- estimates that dealing with the
effects of substance abuse costs states about as much as they pay for
higher education. The report recommends spending more on prevention and
treatment, especially to prevent inmates from committing drug-related
crimes once they're released.

The corrections budget bill approved by the House took a step down the
right road. Now the state Senate should follow suit.