While justice-involved clients may have similar clinical needs to other clients in SUD treatment, they often require that treatment providers communicate with justice partners, such as court and probation professionals, to support the client’s legal obligations and keep them in the community and recovery. Our CJI treatment focus involves unique care coordination and treatment focus to address the judicial requirements which the client faces as well as identifying root causes and breaking linkages which keep the client trapped in a recidivist state.
Our care coordination communicates with outside criminal justice agencies (e.g., LAC-Probation, LASD, LA County Superior Courts, etc.) to ensure that care coordination activities meet the respective criminal justice supervision requirements of the involved agency. Care coordination may include: Attending court hearings to report the progress of SUD treatment; arrange letters, phone calls, emails, and/or direct in-person meetings with the outside agency (LAC-Probation, LASD, and Parole) and/or court (LA Superior Courts) about client enrollment and SUD treatment progress; as well as, receive health records related to in-custody treatment for individuals being released from custody.
Courts have an important opportunity to recognize alleged criminal activity due to underlying problems, such as SUD, and offer treatment as an alternative to incarceration or further legal action. Court interaction is often the earliest opportunity to refer justice-impacted clients to treatment and can prevent the consequences of being charged or extended jail time. Court-based diversion is often conditional on the client being enrolled and engaged in treatment, and judges expect regular updates to assure them that the client is continuing to receive care. For this reason, timely communication with court partners is critical to support a client in continuing treatment and avoiding legal consequences. Therefore, communication with court partners by Pax Staff include: Provision of enrollment letters; being responsive to requests and providing updated progress reports, as well as, notifying court partners if the client leaves AMA or is at risk of non-voluntary or administrative discharge.
