Prison Substance Abuse Treatment

QUICK FACTS

• The Department of Corrections (DOCS) reports that 83% of inmates are in need of substance abuse treatment.

• Approximately 60 New York State prisons operate substance abuse treatment programs, serving close to 25,000 inmates per year.

• The cost of incarcerating a person in a New York prison for one year is about $43,500.

• In comparison, the cost of most outpatient drug treatment runs between $2,700-$4,500 per person per year; and the cost of residential drug treatment is $17,000-$21,000 per person per year.

• According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, 53% of substance abusers also have at least one serious mental illness.

• Very few prison facilities are authorized to treat inmates with co-occurring substance abuse and mental illness.