Census Study Eyes Blacks in Prison

"More than three times as many black people live in prison cells as in college dorms, the government said in a report to be released Thursday.

The ratio is only slightly better for Hispanics, at 2.7 inmates for every Latino in college housing. Among non-Hispanic whites, more than twice as many live in college housing as in prison or jail.

The numbers, driven by men, do not include college students who live off campus. Previously released census data show that black and Hispanic college students — commuters and those in dorms — far outnumber black and Hispanic prison inmates.

Nevertheless, civil rights advocates said it is startling that blacks and Hispanics are more likely to live in prison cells than in college dorms.

"It's one of the great social and economic tragedies of our time," said Marc Morial, president and CEO of the Urban League. "It points to the signature failure in our education system and how we've been raising our children."" |Read more|

Does "Rehab" Treatment Work?

"Complete abstinence is the goal of rehab, and as such, this is how rehab's effectiveness is measured. For decades, a bounty of studies on how well rehab treatments work have been conducted, and what they've shown is that the most effective treatment is a combination of different treatment types.

Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy counseling along with medications, for example, has provided higher success rates than either of the two alone. Perhaps the most effective treatment combination is a treatment regimen consisting of a treatment program (residential, outpatient, etc.) along with attendance of a 12-step program, and weekly counseling sessions, either individual or group.

A study conducted in 1994 called the Target Cities Project showed that people who had completed a drug dependency treatment program, attended one 12-step program per week and had one counseling session per week had an 87 percent chance of abstinence six months after completion of treatment.

The study shows that 12-step programs and counseling play an important role in an addict's rehabilitation. Even among treatment dropouts who attended weekly 12-step meetings and engaged in counseling five times per week, the abstinence rate was 74 percent. Conversely, those who completed a treatment program but did not attend 12-step meetings, yet did attend counseling sessions five times per week, had an abstinence rate of 62 percent [source: American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse].

Another study found that a person who attended four more group or 12-step sessions and one more individual counseling session per month than another person has a 40 percent less chance of relapse [source: NIDA].

The length of time spent in a treatment program also affects the probability for success. Three months is the minimum recommended length of a treatment program in order to gain the best chances of achieving abstinence down the road. There are also other factors that have been shown to make rehab most effective. Coexisting psychological problems, like an anxiety disorder or depression, should be treated in a program that addresses both the dependency and the disorder together. This approach is especially important in treating compulsive disorders like sexual addictions and binge-eating disorders. These types of addictions are often the result of an underlying, related psychological disorder. Many cases of gambling addiction also coexist with substance abuse problems, and both problems should be addressed simultaneously.

It's also been widely held that rehab works best if the patient is willing and ready to discontinue his substance abuse. But recent studies of inmates at correctional facilities who are forced into prison treatment programs have shown that rehab in jail can lead to not only abstinence after release, but also lowers rates of criminal recidivism -- repeating an offense after having been punished for it before. As a result, confidence in involuntary treatment programs has increased. In some U.S. states, "drug courts" have been organized; judges can choose to sentence offenders to treatment programs rather than prison. In 2004, the court system referred 36 percent of Americans who received treatment.

Some nontraditional treatment programs also boast of impressive success rates. The Jude Thaddeus Program at the St. Jude Treatment House in New York says that it has produced a 65 percent success rate from its exclusive program.

Despite the success that some treatment programs have demonstrated, for many people, rehab isn't an option. In contrast to the 3.9 million Americans who received treatment in 2005, an estimated 20 million more needed treatment but did not receive it [source: Dept. of Health and Human Services]. Chief among the reasons why people didn't seek treatment was the cost of rehab."

How "Rehab" Works

"When we hear the term "rehab," we usually think of a residential treatment facility where celebrities go to "dry out." As it turns out, there are a variety of types of programs, and even more methods of treatment.


The success of prison rehab programs has shown that
involuntary treatment can be effective in breaking addiction.

There are several settings where treatment can take place. Hospitals often serve as rehab facilities, treating people who come into the emergency room with an acute drug overdose. This treatment usually doesn't last long; however, some hospitals do offer longer-term and more expansive treatment programs. Rehabs can range in appearance from a very clinical setting in a prison to a luxurious day spa on an exotic island, and everything in between. What most treatment facilities have in common is that they are divided by the length of the service they offer.

Treatment generally takes place as inpatient, outpatient or partial-hospitalization:

* Inpatient treatment (also called residential) - the addict is cared for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Inpatient rehab can be offered either as short-term (usually 28 days) or long-term, which consists of residential treatment for six months or more. Often, long-term inpatient treatment is court-ordered, and, in addition to treatment, includes resocialization, the process where patients learn to behave as a normally functioning member of society again.

* Outpatient treatment - takes place on a visitation basis. In this setting, a patient may come to a rehab facility to attend support groups, receive medication (such as methadone for the treatment of heroin), and receive counseling. In outpatient treatment, an addict usually goes about his daily life and sleeps at home.

* Partial-hospitalization - a combination of both inpatient and outpatient treatments. The addict receives treatment during the day and goes home at night. This treatment setting somewhat resembles the 9-to-5 work schedule most people keep, but rather than going to work, the addict goes to rehab.

Prison is another place that can serve as a rehab treatment center. In this setting, substance-dependent patients are removed from the general prison population to diminish the possibility that they'll be exposed to drugs or alcohol. Treatment facilities are becoming popular in American prisons, as they have increasingly been shown to be effective.

Regardless of whether treatment is received in prison or in a spa, the treatment programs are similarly structured."

Note: Convicted felons are usually tested, for drug use, before they are sentenced to prison. Son of convicted operative and politician wannabe, Stan "Pampy" Barre, has already expressed fear that his hair follicles will be tested.