Housing / Transportation Services Family Services Behavioral Therapy and Counseling Child Care Services Intake Processing/ Assessment Treatment Plan Vocational Services Substance Use Monitoring Mental Health Services Financial Services Clinical and Case Management Pharmacotherapy Self Help or Peer Support Groups Medical Services Legal Services Continuing Care HIV and AIDS Services Educational Services The best treatment programs provide a combination of therapies and other services to meet the needs of the individual patient.

Insurance Protocols

Insurance companies use statistics to define protocols for the average patient and the statistically most cost effective treatment. These results in rules requiring doctors to get approvals from insurance companies to do procedures or prescribe certain drugs hinder doctors' ability to provide good timely care. Insurers are in the business of making cost effective health care decisions. Insurers often require doctors to get approvals before they can authorize certain types of care in an attempt to save costs and prevent unnecessary procedures. On average, this can be cost effective for the insurance policy. However, for many, those decisions result is slower treatment, worse outcomes, and adverse side effects.

Treatment Needs for Women in the Criminal Justice System

Although women face incarceration at far lower rates than men, the number and percentage of incarcerated women have grown substantially in recent years. Between 1995 and 2005, the number of men in prisons and jails grew by about a third, while the number of incarcerated women more than doubled (Harrison and Beck, 2006). Women in prison are likely to have a different set of problems and needs than men, which present particular treatment challenges. For example, compared to incarcerated men, incarcerated women in treatment are significantly more likely to have severe substance abuse histories, as well as physical health and psychological problems (Messing, Burdon, Hagopian and Prendergast, 2006). Approximately 50 percent of female offenders are likely to have histories of physical or sexual abuse. Women are also more likely than men to be victims of domestic violence. Past or current victimization can contribute to drug or alcohol abuse, depression, post traumatic stress disorder and criminal activity.
Treatment programs serving both men and women offer effective treatment for female clients. However, programs specific to each gender may be more effective for female offenders, particularly those with histories of trauma and abuse. Female offenders are more likely to need medical and mental health services, childcare services and assistance in finding housing and employment. Following a comprehensive assessment, women with mental health disorders should receive appropriate treatment and case management, including victim services as needed. For female offenders with children, parental responsibilities can conflict with the ability to participate in drug treatment. Regaining or retaining custody of children can also motivate mothers to participate in treatment. Treatment programs may improve retention by offering childcare services and parenting classes.

Juveniles Abusers in the Criminal Justice System

In recent years, there number of juveniles with substance abuse problems involved in the criminal and juvenile justice systems is up. From 1986 to 1996, juvenile incarcerations related to drug use increased nearly threefold. In 2002, about 60 percent of detained boys and nearly half of the girls tested positive for drug use. One study found that about one-half of both male and female juvenile detainees met criteria for a substance use disorder (Teplin, Abram, McClelland, et al., 2002). Juveniles entering the criminal justice system can bring a number of serious issues with them including: substance abuse; academic failure; emotional disturbances; physical health issues; family problems and a history of physical or sexual abuse. Girls make up nearly a third of juvenile arrests, a high percentage report some form of emotional, physical or sexual abuse. Effectively addressing these issues requires the juvenile gaining access to comprehensive assessment, treatment, case management and support services that are age and developmentally appropriate. Assessment is particularly important, because not all adolescents who use drugs need treatment. For those who do, there are several points in the juvenile justice continuum where treatment is available, including juvenile drug courts, supervision within the community and juvenile detention.
Families play an important role in the recovery of substance abusing juveniles, but this influence can be positive or negative. Parental substance abuse or criminal involvement, physical or sexual abuse by family members and lack of parental involvement or supervision are all risk factors for adolescent substance abuse and delinquent behavior. Thus, the effective treatment of juvenile substance abusers often requires a treatment model that targets family functioning and the increased involvement of family members. Effective adolescent treatment approaches include multi-systemic therapy, multidimensional family therapy and functional family therapy. These interventions show promise in strengthening families and decreasing juvenile substance abuse and delinquent behavior.