Giving Back: Peer Recovery Support for People with Substance Use Disorders in the Criminal Justice System

• In Event: Biological, biosocial and psychological interventions

Abstract

A substantial majority of people under criminal justice supervision in the United States have substance use disorders, and access to treatment and other recovery services is limited for this population. For those with opioid use disorders, the risk of death from a drug overdose after release from prison is 50-100 times greater than for the general population. Those with substance use disorders in the criminal justice system (CJS) often have many other health and social problems, including high rates of mental health disorders, that present barriers to recovery and increase the likelihood of recidivism. In recent years, peer recovery support specialists, with lived experience in the CJS and with substance use, have emerged as an important resource to help individuals link to treatment and other services and develop and sustain the recovery capital needed to promote recovery and desistance from crime. This presentation presents results from two experiments that tested the impacts of peer recovery support specialists on substance use, treatment engagement, and recidivism in different settings: drug treatment courts and probation. Using both quantitative and qualitative date, the studies found positive support for use of peers in these settings, and positive impacts on the lives of clients. This paper also discusses the challenges encountered by peer recovery support specialists in working with CJS clients, as well as best practices for supporting clients in their recovery journey.

Author

• Steven Belenko, Temple Univesity