This course was developed to assist Law Enforcement, CPS, CASA, Community Supervision, and any other department or Social Worker that may come into contact with individuals active in their addiction. In recent years many trainings concentrated on specific drug make-up, effects, and indicators of use. While these are important aspects of drug use in any community, this training is specific to the addiction disease model, associated behaviors, treating addiction, law enforcement intervention, officer self-care, and actual case studies.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

The basic objective of any educational program is to change the behavior of its participants. To accomplish this purpose, this curriculum has three objectives:

1. Increase knowledge about substance abuse, legal ramifications, health risks, and possible fatal outcomes. This section is accomplished through both lecture and interactive discussion teaching non-threatening and non-judgmental methods of speaking to active substance users. With years of practical experience and mentorship, we can easily learn to speak to someone in their own language rather than speaking at them.

2. Help participants draw conclusions about high risk situations and related consequences. Either a substance user made a bad decision about their behaviors/choices and can make certain adjustments to not suffer consequences a second time, or they have conclusive evidence about one’s chronic addiction and lack of will power over it. In either case, participants will obtain the necessary information to help one overcome their addiction regardless of their circumstances, if they wish to be free of it, and what to expect if they don’t. When participants are able to help individuals gain an accurate picture of their choices and associated consequences, we can start moving towards and expect a lower recidivism rate.

3. Provide each participant the necessary knowledge, resources and skills to aide their efforts when helping individuals begin the process of recovery from their addiction(s). This is best accomplished through building a network of relationships and collaboration with other officers, treatment providers, and recovered individuals.

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