The 24/7 Sobriety Program has proven to be a good adjunct to and in certain circumstances a replacement for some Drug court and DUI court programs.
Drug and DUI Courts have historically dealt with offenders that have demonstrated drug or alcohol abuse and/or dependency and have a history in the criminal justice system.
24/7 Sobriety Programs have also been geared towards participants with substance abuse issues.
Immediate consequences and treatment protocols help substance-abusing offenders break the cycle of addiction and crime. 24/7 sobriety program testing can help courts efficiently and effectively monitor use and apply immediate consequences to help meet those goals. While not exactly the same 24/7 sobriety programs have many of the same attributes.
How does 24/7 fit?
The 24/7 sobriety programs can provide and support the testing for alcohol and/or drugs for a standalone 24/7 program or for a Drug or DUI Court. The client management software helps to track, control, and disseminate all the testing information to interested parties.
Standalone evidence based 24/7 sobriety programs have been shown to produce long-term behavioral change on their participants; resulting in a reduction in recidivist behavior. Drug courts have been show to produce similar results, but at a much higher cost.
Using the results generated from a 24/7 participants testing can help identify substance abusers and addicts who need more intensive supervision and/or treatment. Since 24/7 sobriety programs are low or no cost to the taxpayer, the use of a 24/7 program to address the majority of participants and can help direct those that need more intensive supervision to the drug courts will better focus drug courts resources on the individuals that require their intensive services. WIth more resources available for these challenging cases, the hope would be that Drug Courts would have better success rates in helping these individuals to overcome their substance abuse.
Recidivism Rates
Recidivism rates for offenders who have graduated from Drug Courts have proven to be lower than recidivism rates of offenders who did not take part in a Drug Court program.
Recidivism rates for offenders who have graduated from evidence based 24/7 sobriety programs have proven to be lower than recidivism rates of offenders who did not take part in a 24/7 sobriety program.
Cost Benefit
In line with their demonstrated effects on crime, Drug Courts have proven to be highly cost-effective. Several recent studies have computed the average cost savings per participant. Results revealed average cost savings ranging from nearly $3,000 to over $12,000 per client annual savings. Overall, it is estimated that the current adult Drug Court treatment program produces about $2.21 in benefit for every $1 in costs, for a net benefit to society of about $624 million.
Evidence based 24/7 sobriety programs have little or no tax payer investment required . This can make the benefits exponential in terms of investment.
Can a 24/7 program replace a Drug Court or DUI Court
Evidence based 24/7 sobriety programs are not a panacea. They do not address all substance abuse and/or dependency issues. 24/7 programs have been shown to be effective with a large portion of the population that Drug and DUI courts currently cater to, but it is not well suited for those that will require more intensive supervision and treatment to change their behavior.
Evidence based 24/7 sobriety programs do however offer some efficiencies that could help Drug Courts spend their limited resources on those that require their services to overcome their substance abuse issues. Synergy between these programs show promise and should be considered by jurisdictions trying to address substance abuse and dependency concerns.