Corrections_Today_Winter_2024-2025_Vol.86_No.4

D. Comply with professional standards in staff development and offer a balance between operational requirements and the development of personal, social and cultural understanding. Staff develop ment programs should involve the use of public and private resources, including colleges, universities, labor unions and professional associations; E. Achieve parity between correctional staff and comparable criminal justice system staff in salaries and benefits, training, continuing education, performance evalu ations, disciplinary procedures, career development opportunities, transfers, promotions, grievance procedures and retirement; F. Encourage the participation of trained volunteers, students and internships to enrich the correctional profession and to provide a potential source of recruitment; G. Promote corrections as a career choice in high schools, vocational schools and colleges and universities, and establish partnerships with career educational programs; H. Encourage correctional employees to seek national certification and continuing education. tual platforms, to enhance the image of correctional employment and commu nity understanding of the public service performed by correctional staff and supporting the goals of community safety and rehabilitation. J. Provide compensation, benefits and other dedicated programs for correctional per sonnel that will enhance recruitment and retention. I. Develop a strategy, including vir

This Public Correctional Policy was unanimously ratified by the American Correctional Association Delegate Assembly at the 114 th Congress of Correction in San Antonio, August 23, 1984. It was last reviewed and amended at the Congress of Correction in Nash ville, TN on August 18, 2024. PUBLIC CORRECTIONAL POLICY ON CO-OCCURRING MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS 2019-2 Introduction: The lifetime prevalence rate for prisoners with substance use disorders is well over 70%. 1 In 1997, it was estimated that 3-11% of prison inmates have co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. 2 More recent estimates include 24-34% of females and 12-15% of males with co-occurring disorders in the justice sys tem. 3 While substance use and mental health issues have growing relevance in America’s jails and prisons, they have been treated as separate conditions. Treatment efforts within correctional systems need to be combined to reduce recidi vism, build resilience, and facilitate recovery for this population. The operational definition of “co-occurring disorder” is the presence of at least one substance use disorder and one mental health disorder, wherein one or both of these disorders are cur rently associated with serious impairment in psychological, cognitive, or behavioral function ing that substantially interfere with the person’s ability to meet the ordinary demands of living and requires an individualized treatment plan by a qualified mental health professional. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) supports the use of evidence based practices for the treatment of co-occurring disorders within the justice system. In 2005, the Department issued a Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) with guidelines on developing protocols for treatment of co-occurring disorders. 4 →

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