Pubdate: Tue, 16 May 2000 Source: Star-Ledger (NJ) Copyright: 2000 Newark Morning Ledger Co. Contact: 1 Star-Ledger Plaza, Newark, N.J., 07102-1200 Website: http://www.nj.com/starledger/ Forum: http://www.nj.com/forums/ A SMARTER STRATEGY ON DRUG OFFENDERS 0ne missed opportunity in the nation's war on drugs has been the failure to provide sufficient treatment programs for criminal offenders who are addicts. That neglect is giving way to a wiser policy. A private drug treatment company has opened a 732-bed facility in Newark that will provide inpatient treatment for 500 Essex County Jail inmates as well as scores of others from state prisons. Under the program, nonviolent drug offenders will receive treatment rather than go to prison, a promising approach that should cut recidivism and alleviate crowding at the county jail. The facility will be run by Community Education Centers of America Inc., a Roseland company that spent more than $12 million renovating an 80,000-square-foot warehouse in the city's Ironbound section. The new facility is known as Delaney Hall. The county signed a $3 million contract for the first year of the program and plans to begin moving the first 250 inmates into the facility June 1. That seems like a lot of money, but it's likely to wind up saving taxpayers plenty. It costs the county $97 a day to house inmates in the jails, compared with the $67 that will be spent at Delaney. And if it helps some of the convicts quit drugs and avoid crime, the program will continue to save taxpayers money. One addict can run up quite a bill when you consider the costs of crime, family breakup and medical care that often result from addiction. Gov. Christie Whitman came under fire as recently as 1996 for having created only 300 treatment beds for inmates, despite promises of more. State officials now report there are more than 3,000 treatment beds. More than 70 percent of county inmates are in jail for drug crimes, mostly for possession. Studies have shown better results with treatment than with incarceration for nonviolent drug users, and that approach is apparently being viewed more favorably. Some eyebrows have been raised because the company president, John Clancy, has been a major contributor to Whitman's campaigns. But the for-profit firm has a record of accomplishment. It operates three major facilities that treat state inmates and has 22 facilities around the country. A study last year by the state Corrections Department found that the rate of recidivism for graduates was 23 percent - far lower than the 70 percent rate for conventional prisons. Like any new endeavor, the facility should be closely monitored, and taxpayers should be provided with solid evidence that it is meeting its goals and giving us the most bang for the buck. But the concept is valid and deserves a chance to prove itself. This program has the potential to be a more cost-effective means of addressing the problem of drugs and crime. - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk