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House
Arrest Program Substance
Abuse Treatment and the Many times a person finds themselves in front a judge with charges that are directly related to alcohol and/or drug use. These people are not necessarily “criminals”, but addicts. Would these people really be in trouble if they were not addicted? If they were treated for the disease of addiction, and began a program of recovery, would they be in court again? If the true intent of the criminal justice system is to rehabilitate the individual, shouldn’t the individual be treated for their addiction? But
then there are critics who feel that current penalties aren’t stiff enough...
That the judge should throw the book at these individuals... Is there a way to
address both the criminal element of drug related crimes, but still treat the
disease, which perpetuates the criminal behavior? Alpha
Recovery is working in conjunction with companies that offer Electronic
Monitoring to offer a House Arrest Program. Clients under the House Arrest
Program are serving a confinement sentence, but still receive the treatment they
desperately need to address their addiction issues. The client is still required
to meet all the criteria of the Alpha Recovery Program, work, therapy groups and
12 step meeting attendance. Other than the time allotted for these activities,
the client is confined to their unit for monitoring.
This program allows a judge to hand down a confinement sentence, yet
still offer the rehabilitative therapy to decrease the chances of a reappearance
of the client in court. Another
benefit of this program is that the taxpayers no longer bear the expense of
incarceration. This program is self-payed, by the client. The cost of this
program is approximately $300.00 per month for the monitoring service, plus the
normal rate of the Alpha Recovery Program. Based on a 30-day month, this program
would cost the client about $28.00 per day. This is less than the daily rate of
a moderate hotel room! When compared to the daily rate of an in-patient
treatment facility or the cost of incarceration, the difference is significant. The
most important benefit of this program is to the clients themselves. This
program allows the individual to become an acceptable, responsible, and
productive member of society. It allows them to interact within society,
yet still receive the support and structure so vital to those new in
recovery. If the program doesn’t work for an individual... then his probation
or parole can be revoked... he is then incarcerated. If the program does work
for an individual, then both the criminal justice system and the substance abuse
treatment field have both accomplished their objectives.
Copyright © 2002, Alpha Recovery Centers, Inc.
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