Residential Drug Abuse Treatment in the Federal Bureau of Prisons

Abstract

The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has undertaken a major initiative to provide residential drug abuse treatment to incarcerated offenders. The residential program represents the most comprehensive and intensive option in a three-tiered drug abuse treatment strategy adopted by the BOP and available to federal inmates. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the development, structure and content of this program. As such, a brief history of drug treatment for federal prisoners is offered, with specific emphasis on how earlier treatment programs influenced the current strategy. Implementation and organization are discussed to provide insight into both the treatment and unit-based structure of prison-based drug treatment. An introduction to the specific content areas covered during treatment is provided as a primer to the comprehensive concept endorsed in the development of the program. Finally, the importance of community transition and the steps taken by treatment and unit staff to facilitate transition is provided.