Office Initiatives and Outreach
- JCAP
- MOC
- Bitterpill
- TenPoint
- Public Safety Coalition
- Indiana Safe Students
- Crime Prevention Initiative
JCAP
Nowhere is Indiana’s substance abuse crisis more visible than within the walls of its jails and prisons. A large percentage of Indiana offenders have histories of substance abuse.
Targeting inmate populations therefore represents one of the best methods of reaching drug users most in need of services. This reality is the premise of the Jail Chemical Addiction Program, also known by the acronym “JCAP.”
The JCAP approach is helping addicted offenders leave jail on paths to recovery.
Boone County, just northwest of Indianapolis, and Dearborn County, in southeastern Indiana near Cincinnati, have pioneered this model. JCAP participants are separated from others in the jail population and expected to spend at least 90 days in cognitive behavioral therapy. Master’s-level social workers conduct group and individual counseling. A key to long-term success is to create solid plans for continued treatment once participants complete their sentences.
After studying this successful model, the Office of the Indiana Attorney General in 2017 began holding meetings in every region of Indiana promoting this concept and encouraging other counties either to operate their own quality programs or collaborate in regional JCAPs. Currently, Shelby, Montgomery, Scott, Fountain/Warren, Marshall and Kosciusko counties have established a JCAP program.
In Dearborn County, the JCAP program is credited with helping slash the number of repeat drug abuse offenders by more than half. Approximately 43 percent of general-population inmates in Dearborn County wind up being arrested again upon release. By contrast, only 18 percent of JCAP graduates are picked up for new offenses upon release, according to Dearborn County’s data.
From a financial standpoint, the JCAP program makes sense. The Dearborn County program costs $14 per day per participant. Similar therapy in the private sector would cost tens of thousands of dollars per person.
The best correctional models are those that not only penalize offenders for their crimes but that also help improve their character by addressing social, emotional, spiritual, educational, and familial issues through targeted services. JCAP is one model that puts this truth into practice. To learn more about JCAP, contact Jordan Hoffman at Jordan.Hoffman@atg.in.gov or 317-234-7100.
Videos
Kosciusko JCAP: Preview
Kosciusko JCAP: PREVIEW from One Voice Media on Vimeo.
MOC
In May of 2017, the Office of the Indiana Attorney General launched its Mobile Operations Center (MOC) to advance constituent services and public outreach on a statewide basis.
In 2018, the MOC and staff visited all 92 counties for the second year in a row and interacted with close to 12,000 constituents. You might see the MOC parked at a local public library in your area or visiting a festival or other special event.
Staff traveling with the MOC helped citizens find more than $430,000 in unclaimed property in 2018. They also helped people freeze their credit, file consumer complaints and take advantage of other constituent services offered through the Office of the Indiana Attorney General.
Watch the Indiana Attorney General's Twitter page and Facebook Page to follow the week-to-week schedule of where the MOC is headed next.
Bitterpill
Prescription drug abuse is a growing epidemic affecting all manner of people, from stressed out students cramming for exams, to ambitious professionals and athletes, to recovering soldiers returning from battle. And despite the death toll and the recurring headlines of surging overdose deaths, the rates of prescription drug abuse and addiction continue to steadily grow. The abuse of painkillers cost the United States almost $53.4 billion in terms of lost productivity, medical costs and legal fees.
People who abuse prescription painkillers have a greater risk of addiction than people who take them as prescribed - but it's important to remember that the medication itself is addictive. Even someone who takes opioid (narcotics) as prescribed by a doctor can develop a physical dependence on the drug, especially if prescribed for several weeks or more. Heroin has the same chemical make-up as a prescribed opioid and 80% of heroin users indicated they started out taking a prescription opioid.
Revised January 2019 from The National Institute on Drug Abuse
Every day, more than 130 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids. The misuse of an addiction to opioids--including prescription pain relievers, heroin and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl--is a serious national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total "economic burden" of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of health care, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.
This is a growing problem all over the country, including Indiana. For more information please see our BitterPill website here.
TenPoint
Extensive conversations in 2017 between the Indiana Attorney General and Pastor Charles Harrison of the Indy TenPoint Coalition (ITPC) led to a partnership via which the Office of the Indiana Attorney General now provides logistical and financial support to neighborhood organizations that commit to rigorously following TenPoint principles.
The ITPC is a faith-based 501 (c)(3) organization whose primary mission is to reduce urban youth gun violence by addressing root causes such as lack of education and/or employment. The ITPC makes a genuine difference in the lives of young people, families and neighborhoods with a “boots-on-the-ground” strategy. The ITPC aims to bring together churches, community leaders, law enforcement and the court system in support of the ITPC mission.
A significant part of the ITPC approach is to recruit caring residents to participate in regularly scheduled walks through troubled neighborhoods and to directly engage with individuals who might be involved with crime, drugs and violence – including the previously incarcerated -- and/or those at risk of making poor choices leading to such consequences. Those participating in these walks, which occur several times a week, include individuals who themselves have turned their lives around following involvement in crime, drugs, violence and incarceration.
In the summer of 2017, the Attorney General designated $500,000 to be awarded to the Indiana Drug Enforcement Association to be used as seed money in the form of $50,000 grants given to community groups committed to adopting the TenPoint model in their own neighborhoods. Anyone interested in applying for grant support may contact Jordan Hoffman at the Office of the Indiana Attorney General at Jordan.Hoffman@atg.in.gov.
Public Safety Coalition
The Attorney General’s Public Safety Coalition (PSC) is an organization aimed at elevating the role of law enforcement professionals in the crafting of public policy in Indiana. Much of the work of the PSC is geared toward developing long-term solutions to the drug and crime problems plaguing our state.
The PSC holds regular meetings to facilitate collaboration and discussion between staff members from the Office of the Indiana Attorney General and other Hoosiers representing all regions of the state.
Police and prosecutors are widely respected for their particular insights and skill sets. The purpose of the PSC is to ensure that the voices of these professionals receive sufficient attention and weight in the crafting of public policy. To this end, the PSC regularly invites members of the Indiana General Assembly to its meetings.
If you are interested in more information about the PSC, please contact Brittany Wallace at Brittany.Wallace@atg.in.gov or 317-234-2967.
Indiana Safe Students - EVERFI Partnership
The Office of the Indiana Attorney General and its partners are pleased to offer this resource to educators, youth leaders, parents and students. Indiana Safe Students is a "one-stop-shop" for safety information relating to health risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death and social problems among Indiana’s youth. In an on-going effort, we will provide you with the latest links, downloads and other resources on safety information covering the issues outlined in this initiative. Click here to learn more or view the Prescription Drug Safety Program - Digital Course for Indiana Teens.
Crime Prevention Initiative
The Office of the Attorney General has made crime prevention a key initiative as part of the office’s mission to protect the rights, freedoms and safety of Hoosiers. By using our resources and platform, we can work to identify systemic barriers facing Hoosier communities that can contribute to increased crime rates, advocate for legislative changes, facilitate solutions-based conversations among stakeholders, and generally serve as a useful resource in helping communities tackle the crime problems plaguing our state.
Read more about the initiative and view an interactive map >