All Rise About Projects Judiciary Training on Substance Use

Judiciary Training on Substance Use

All Rise’s Center for Advancing Justice helps judges and other justice system professionals apply evidence-based practices for addressing individuals with substance use disorder at every stage of the justice system.

This project is funded by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy State Judiciary Education on Substance Use and Substance Use Disorder program.

Background and Approach

The Center for Advancing Justice delivers workshops at state, regional, and national trainings and via an online series of training videos. Additionally, the Center provides advanced implementation training to help jurisdictions identify and implement specific evidence-based models that meet their needs and fit their target populations.

Substance use is the leading driver of crime in the United States. While there are proven methods for saving lives and reducing reoffending among justice-involved individuals with substance use disorder, we are not using them in the vast majority of cases where they are needed. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of individuals in need of treatment receive no treatment services whatsoever. When treatment is offered, often it is neither evidence based nor accompanied by effective supervision strategies.

The Center for Advancing Justice delivers workshops at state, regional, and national trainings and via an online training video series to provide:

  • Training and education on interventions from arrest to reentry, consistent with sound judicial discretion
  • Education on substance use and substance use disorder
  • Promotion of public health approaches to substance use disorder prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery

Additionally, the Center provides advanced implementation training help jurisdictions identify and implement specific evidence-based models that meet their needs and fit their target populations.

Want to learn more or discuss a customizable training that fits your needs? Contact Center for Advancing Justice project director Wendy Schiller.

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Areas of Focus

Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) Theory

RNR theory posits that justice system responses should be tailored to an individual’s risk of committing future crime (the risk principle), the individual’s criminogenic needs like substance use, criminal thinking, antisocial peers, etc. (the need principle), and the individual’s learning style, abilities, and challenges (the responsivity principle).

Evidence-Based Decision Making

Equipped with RNR theory, judges and other justice system partners can make evidence-based decisions about pretrial release, eligibility for diversion programming, sentencing, probation conditions, release from incarceration, and post-release supervision. Individualized case plans—based on each person’s risk level, criminogenic needs, and responsivity factors—can replace cookie-cutter responses that require the same level of supervision, treatment, and other services for most defendants and can lead to reduced reoffending and cost savings.

Neuroscience of Addiction

Most justice system professionals receive little or no education on the neuroscience of addiction prior to assuming their roles, and they have few opportunities to get this kind of training on the job. As a result, critical decisions at all stages of the justice system are being made on the basis of misinformation or lack of understanding about substance use disorder and its role in crime.

Substance Use Treatment

After learning about the neuroscience of addiction, it is important for judges and other justice system professionals to understand the treatment and recovery processes and how the justice system can facilitate and support effective treatment. Of particular importance during the current overdose epidemic is education about medications for substance use disorder (e.g., buprenorphine, methadone, naltrexone) and overdose reversal medication (i.e.,  naloxone).

Effective Supervision Practices

A central goal of justice system supervision—whether at the pretrial, sentencing, corrections, or reentry phase—is behavior modification. Judges and others seek to use the authority of the justice system to promote short-term compliance with court orders and long-term desistence from crime. Doing so effectively requires training about effective supervision practices and the use of evidence-based behavior modification techniques.