DRUG FUNDS FOR INMATES CALLED VITAL

State officials will take a closer look at how public funds -- nearly
$20 million last fiscal year -- are used for drug abuse programs. That
action comes in the wake of a task force report showing Nebraska
inmates, the state's most at-risk community, are getting but a tiny
fraction of those funds.

Sen. Nancy Thompson of Papillion, a member of the task force, said the
report found the state Department of Correctional Services received
about 4 percent of the funds last fiscal year. Up to 85 percent of
Nebraska inmates need substance abuse treatment.

"I think you can say the need is far greater than the amount of
treatment available," said Thompson, who sponsored a bill last year
creating the Substance Abuse Treatment Task Force.

The task force report will be turned over to state
legislators.

"Before we ask for more money, we need to look at how we are using
existing resources," Thompson said. "Let's look at how all the drug
treatment resources are being spent and if we can reallocate." The
report recommends:

A statewide strategy for substance abuse treatment.

Chemical dependency evaluations for state adult and juvenile
offenders.

Modified training and certification requirements for drug-abuse
counselors.

Additional funds.

The 21-member task force found $19,702,702 in state and federal funds
was spent on substance abuse treatment in Nebraska in fiscal
1999-2000. According to the report, only 4 percent of those dollars
went to the adult corrections system and only 1 percent to the
juvenile-justice system.

Up to 80 percent of offenders in the state's juvenile-detention
facilities in Geneva and Kearney need substance abuse treatment, the
report found.

The report indicated that spending for drug treatment has declined
16.5 percent since 1992, when adjusted for inflation.

Thompson said the report underscored the need for treatment programs
to break the strong correlation between drug use and criminal behavior.

"Anything we can do to turn these numbers around will pay off in the
long run," she said. "From a state perspective of resources, we can't
continue to build prisons." N. Steven King, Department of Correctional
Services planning director, agreed. He said the rate of former inmates
who commit crimes upon their release is significantly lower when the
inmates get substance abuse treatment.

"Eighty-four percent of inmates will be out in three years," he said.
"It's in our best interest to treat them while we have them." King
said treatment programs save substantial money. A recent study, he
said, found that every $1 spent on treatment saves up to $7 in
drug-related criminal-justice costs.

"One of the things the feds are pushing is we have the opportunity to
do something with this high-risk population while they are
incarcerated," King said. "You can either pay it now or pay later."
Denise Herz, a criminal-justice professor at the University of
Nebraska-Omaha, said she was not surprised by the report's findings.
Herz and Melissa Vincent of UNO did needs assessment research for the
report.

"Substance abuse treatment is underfunded in all states," Herz said.
"The situation for juvenile offenders is just as bleak, if not
bleaker." She said national studies have indicated drug treatment
programs can help.

"According to research studies from the National Institute on Drug
Abuse, treatment of chemical dependency can be successful as treatment
for other chronic diseases," she said. "Individuals who enter
treatment under legal pressure have outcomes as favorable as those who
enter treatment voluntarily." King said correctional services is
"doing the best that we can based on the resources that we have." He
said the Nebraska Corrections Treatment Center in Lincoln is based on
a proven model for substance abuse treatment. He said he would like to
have funds for an "after-care" program for released inmates.

Such programs have been highly effective in other states, he
said.

"If you can get them in that kind of program, with the support, it is
effective," he said.