Prison-based
ACDP prison-based programs operate within selected minimum and medium custody prison units approved by the Section of Prisons. The ACDP administrator is responsible for administering the treatment program; and the prison superintendent or warden is responsible for all matters pertaining to custody, security and administration of the prison.
Eligibility for prison-based treatment programs is established during admission at a diagnostic processing unit within the Section of Prisons. ACDP staff administers the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI), a severity indicator of a substance abuse problem, during diagnostic processing. Based on the screening results, prison staff makes the initial referral to treatment. Upon admission to a treatment program, ACDP staff complete a thorough Common Assessment on all participants, which further defines the history and extent of the substance abuse problem. The SASSI and the Common Assessment together establish the final recommended treatment placement for inmates in a ACDP program thereby matching the offender's treatment needs to the appropriate level of treatment.
ACDP provides intermediate and long-term treatment services for male and female inmates. Intermediate programs are 90-days in length. Long-term treatment programs last 4-12 months and are back-end loaded, that is, inmates successfully complete the program and then leave prison immediately or soon thereafter returning to the community. Both programs share the following key elements:
- Use of Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions as the focus of treatment; Incorporation of evidence-based treatment modules;
- Gender-specific curriculum;
- Activities that support building a drug/alcohol/crime-free lifestyle;
- Three phases: Orientation, Main Treatment, and Relapse Prevention, Release and Reintegration preparation; and
- Individual and group counseling services that focus on the thinking and behavioral patterns that have caused the inmate's current involvement with the criminal justice system.