Substance use disorder (SUD) treatment outcomes among Assembly Bill 109 (AB 109) Post-Release Supervised Persons (PSPs) in Los Angeles County (LAC)

Background:The State of California enacted Public Safety Realignment through the passage of Assembly Bill 109 (AB 109) in 2011, which shifted the custody responsibility from the state to county for low-level felony offenders (non-violent, non-serious, and non-sex offenses) and parolees. A critical element of the realignment is the coordination and provision of rehabilitative services to facilitate offender reentry, including substance use disorder, mental health, health care, employment, hosing services. The LAC Department of Public Health, Substance Abuse Prevention and Control (DPH-SAPC) is tasked with providing SUD treatment services to PSPs. The objective of the present study is to examine the outcomes of SUD treatment services among PSPs.

Methods:Los Angeles County Participant Reporting System treatment outcome data, Treatment, Court, Probation eXchange data, and probation recidivism data were utilized to identify SUD treatment outcomes.

Results:Since inception of AB 109 (October 1, 2011), there have been a total of 10,414 SUD treatment referrals, 5,898 SUD treatment admissions, and 4,796 discharges. Of those 4,796 discharges, 48% were discharged with positive compliance and 44% were discharged with negative compliance. PSPs who were positively compliant with SUD treatment were significantly less likely to be arrested for a new charge of a misdemeanor or felony (44%) than PSPs who were negative compliant with SUD treatment(58%). Following SUD treatment, PSPs had a significant increase in school enrollment (31%), job training (83%), and employment (35%); a significant decrease in homelessness, hospitalizations (38%), emergency room visits (36%), and physical health problems (30%). The percent increase or decrease were much greater among those who were discharged with positive compliance.

Conclusions: Substance use disorders have a serious impact on life functioning and health and are major drivers of healthcare costs. These positive treatment outcomes show how SUD treatment can positively impact on life functioning, health outcomes and health care costs.