The Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Formula Grant Program is administered by the Corrections Program Office in the Office of Justice Programs, U. S. Department of Justice. The grant program is designed to assist states and units of local government in developing and implementing residential substance abuse treatment programs within correctional and detention facilities.

Delaware’s drug treatment continuum known as Road to Recovery (R2R) uses the therapeutic community model. Research indicates that 75% of the offenders who completed the in-prison therapeutic community treatment and after-prison work release programs were drug-free and 70% were arrest free after 18 months, as compared to offenders in the control group, which were only 17% drug-free and 36% arrest free.

Delaware has been an RSAT recipient since 2000, when the funds were used to expand the treatment programs already in place in the Department the Correction and implement a treatment program at Ferris School. This grant program expanded the treatment capacity at Howard R. Young prison, provided training for counseling staff at Ferris School for Boys, ensured that 40 individuals with substance use disorder at Ferris could participate in the Program, and expanded drug testing.

The current RSAT grants continue to support efforts at DOC and YRS facilities. Training for staff and correctional officers is a continued focus of the funding, as our understanding of Substance Use Disorders (SUD) evolves. DOC and YRS utilize evidence-based programs in facilities to treat and support residents with SUD. Ferris School for Boys uses the “Seven Challenges” program for eligible residents. DOC is focusing on improving statewide RSAT programming by providing access to training and updating RSAT program space to be more trauma-informed. RSAT funding is also used to support pregnant women with SUD by providing separate, secure housing through the “New Choices” program, conducted by Gaudenzia.

For more information about the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners Formula Grant, visit BJA’s RSAT Program website. For more information on the RSAT Program in Delaware contact: Kathleen Kelley