WELCOME NEWS ON TWO FRONTS IN 'WAR ON DRUGS'

Multnomah County Offers An Integrated Approach That Models New Thinking

President Bush asked his secretary of Health and Human Services to
analyze how to close the treatment gap for citizens who need help for
drug problems.

Promising "unprecedented attention on the demand side" of the drug
problem, Bush has targeted $1.6 billion over the next five years to
reduce the gap between those needing treatment and available
programs. He heralded "a thoughtful and integrated approach" between
law enforcement and treatment professionals.

On the local front, the Oregon Senate unanimously approved Senate
Bill 914, which would steer more nonviolent drug offenders into
treatment programs rather than jail. The bill would allow someone
pleading guilty to certain drug charges to be placed on probation and
referred to treatment. Completion of treatment would erase criminal
charges on the person's record.

Both steps are welcome news. For too long the "war on drugs," the
dominant national strategy to end drug abuse, emphasized the role of
law enforcement. A get-tough ideology, rather than scientific
research, has driven our national problem-solving. Drug treatment,
which has not been in vogue ideologically, has received comparatively
less support.

At the same time, neither ideological stance offers a long-term
solution. Researchers in the fields of corrections and treatment
recognize that the most effective strategy to rehabilitate criminal
drug addicts balances the hammer of the criminal justice system with
intensive cognitive-behavioral treatment.

Multnomah County has been on the cutting edge of this integrated
solution for some time. In November 1999, following a jail tax levy,
the county initiated InterChange, a residential program for men who
have failed at community drug treatment. InterChange is a pilot
project for a 300-bed facility to open in 2003.

The program is innovative on several fronts. Although it is a
treatment program, it is run by Multnomah County's Department of
Community Justice, with a probation officer on staff. Field probation
officers coax offenders to consent to the year-long program through
structured sanctions, increasing their motivation by creating
less-appealing alternatives, such as incarceration.

Once offenders enter treatment, they cannot easily leave. There is a
lock on the door and a 'round-the-clock security presence. The lock
exists to keep offenders, who are notorious for their impulsive
decision-making, engaged in treatment. But InterChange is not a jail.
Clients must consent to receive services and all staff, security and
clinical, play a role in helping criminal addicts to change.

The results, even at this early stage, are encouraging.

One of the program's key goals is reducing anti-social thinking. A
recent study by the county's Budget and Quality Office found a
significant decrease in anti-social, criminal thinking in 39 men who
had completed six months of treatment. Clients showed marked
reductions in unfavorable attitudes toward police officers and
judges, as well as modest but significant decreases in permissible
attitudes toward violating the law.

In tandem with changing anti-social thinking, InterChange aims to
reduce future criminal activity. The Budget and Quality Office did a
comparison study of 54 males referred to residential treatment in the
community and graduates of the InterChange program and found that
InterChange graduates have a significantly lower likelihood of being
arrested after treatment than similar men who finished residential
treatment in the community.

While admittedly preliminary, these data are excellent promissory
notes for the future. They show that a coordinated effort between two
historically polarized groups can improve the impact that both groups
have on rehabilitating addicted offenders.

But this is not the end goal. By breaking the revolving-door cycle of
repeated incarcerations, drug treatment, married to the leverage of
the criminal justice system, is ultimately a powerful, long-term
solution to enhance the safety of our communities.

Wayne Scott is program manager at InterChange.