Court Liaison Program
Harm Reduction Court Liaison
People start abusing substances for a number of reasons. One reason why people start abusing substances is that they have a stressful home life. Thus, they start using substances to cope with their stress. People that are suffering from mental illness or past trauma also often abuse substances as a form of coping.
Others start using substances because they were negatively influenced to do so by others. Regardless of how a person starts abusing substances, once that substance abuse becomes chronic, it often turns into an addiction.
When a person is suffering from addiction, the chances of that person committing a crime goes up dramatically. This is because drug and alcohol use is connected to many negative behavior traits that often lead to criminal activity. On top of that, many people that are under the influence of substances commit crimes just to get more drugs or alcohol. As a result, many alcohol and drug addicts find themselves facing jail time.
Unfortunately, jail only brings about more stress and trauma. This added stress and trauma can worsen a person’s addiction. This is especially true if that person was using substances as a way to cope.
That’s why it’s so important for new criminals that are also suffering from addiction to get the opportunity to attend addiction treatment rather than jail. Providing new criminals with such an opportunity could be the difference between that person never committing a crime again and that person becoming a repeated offender that spends the rest of his or her life in the legal system.
Because we here at Harm Reduction Center (HARC) recognize the value of new criminals that are suffering from addiction attending addiction treatment rather than jail time, we created the HARC Court Liaison Program.
What is the HARC Court Liaison Program?
Our Court Liaison Program provides people that are both suffering from addiction and facing criminal charges with case managers, attorneys, and healthcare providers that will work out a deal with the courts to allow the addict to receive addiction treatment instead of jail time. While the addicts are in addiction treatment, the HARC legal and healthcare professionals will manage their legal issues.
Client needs that the HARC legal and healthcare professionals will provide the addicts with a management plan for include:
- Probation agreements for attending an out-of-state treatment program
- Proof of medical necessity
- Handling and rescheduling of court dates
- Treatment documentation for the necessary authorities
- Client compliance with court-ordered treatments
- Client compliance with drug court and veteran’s treatment court requirements and appearances
- Staff court appearances
- Public defender and private attorney consultations
- Attorney referrals
- Facilitation of communication between multiple attorneys
- Outpatient drug and alcohol assessment scheduling
- Compliancy communication with probation officers with the help of law enforcement and caseworkers to maintain compliance
Attending Rehab Instead of Jail
While overcoming addiction may seem like an impossible task, doing improves the life of the addict in countless ways. Attending rehab instead of jail as an addict facing criminal charges will also benefit society as a whole.
In the next several sections of this article, we’ve described some of the benefits that both the addict facing criminal charges and society as a whole will receive if the addict chooses to attend rehab instead of jail. We hope that this information relieves any lingering concerns that you may have about entering the HARC Court Liaison Program.
The Benefits of Addicts That Are Facing Criminal Charges Attending Rehab Instead of Jail
It Will Save Society Money
One major benefit of people with addictions that are facing criminal charges attending rehab instead of jail is that it will save the country that you live in money. This is because addiction treatment costs society less than incarceration. In fact, mass incarceration costs both families and the government more than $182 billion a year. This number was configured once you break down the healthcare, living, and employee costs of public corrections agencies, the costs of the judicial and legal system, the costs of enforcing related policies, the taxing costs that the jail system has on families, the costs of civil asset forfeitures, and the costs of bail fees.
Because of the money that the incarceration system costs families and the government, there is little to financially lose from sending addicts that are facing criminal charges to rehab instead of jail. In fact, once you configure all of the money that attending rehab instead of jail will save society, the choice to make is clear.
Studies show that people in addiction recovery are less likely to commit expensive crimes than addicts that don’t attend rehab. Those in addiction recovery are also less likely to commit multiple crimes. This also means that law enforcement and court costs will reduce if more addicts with criminal charges go to rehab. All of this proves that sending addicts that face criminal charges to rehab instead of jail will save society money.
The long-term healthcare costs of having addicts that are sober in the world are also way less than the alternative. This is just another reason why sending criminals with addictions to rehab instead of jail will save society money.
It Will Reduce the Amount of Corruption Involved in the Incarceration System
Essentially, the jail system in America operates pretty much like a business. A business that regular people in society pay a large fee for and investors make a profit off of.
Of the money spent on the correctional system, almost half of it is spent on paying staff members. These staff members just so happen to be many of the same people that have influential power over lobbies and reform laws. To make matters worse, countless bail bond companies, phone companies, commissary vendors, and other high-end investors profit from the public and private incarceration system. Thus, increasing the incentive of mass incarceration.
It Will Give Defendants That Normally Get Incarcerated Due to Being Looked Over an Opportunity to Receive the Help That They Need
Less than $4.5 billion of it is spent on providing defendants with legal representation. As a result, many people entering the legal system do so with no legal representation. Others end up in court with legal representation from a government lawyer that is overworked. This is despite the hundreds of billions of dollars that are made and spent on the incarceration system.
Harm Reduction Center Is Dedicated to Improving Your Addiction Recovery Journey
With all of the benefits that both the defendant and society will reap from sending people with addictions that face criminal charges to rehab instead of jail, the decision to attend a Court Liaison Program should be a no brainer. At Harm Reduction Center, our goal is to empower and support our clients’ recovery. Thus, whether it be through our Court Liaison Program or our addiction treatment services, we’re here to serve you.
To learn more about Harm Reduction Center and the services and programs that we provide, contact us anytime. Our staff is more than willing to answer any questions that you may have.
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We’d love to hear from you. The experts at Harm Reduction Center are always available. Call +1(866) 205-1382 to speak to a HARC team member.
