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Recovery in the News
Letter to the Editor
Taxpayers should not have to pick up the tab when state can pay
Darrell Williams
Springfield News-Leader
March 14, 2008
As a member of this community, a substance abuse counselor, a convicted felon, and a recovering alcoholic I would like to share my point of view.
First and foremost it is important to understand that the Missouri Department of Corrections literally saved my life. As a young man I became involved with alcohol and I immediately became involved with the criminal justice system in the form of driving while intoxicated charges; four of them by the time I was 22 to be specific.
Due to this I was sent to the Missouri Department of Corrections and received an opportunity to serve a 120-day treatment sentence as opposed to a five-year prison sentence. Since then I have earned my master's degree in clinical psychology and work in the field which saved my life.
As you would guess, I enjoy working with "offenders," "convicts," and "parolees" as I understand where they have been and also understand they are "people" and not a "number" or "record."
In 2005, I learned of a "proposed" process which would charge offenders (individuals on probation and parole in our state) in "intervention fee" which would be deposited into a fund for the offenders to use if they had substance abuse or mental health service needs. I was curious of what would happen if the offender did not have a treatment need, but I bought into the concept of "offenders paying for their own treatment."
I understand the financial burden individuals are placed in once they return to society as a convicted felon. It is difficult for them to earn jobs at a comparable salary if anyplace will even hire them, as many employers will not. Due to the stigma it is challenging for them to secure stable housing, food, clothing and necessities -- not to mention health services or treatment needs for their substance use or mental illness.
House Bill 700 (July 2005) was signed into law resulting in RSMO 217.690. Section Three of this statute authorizes the Board of Probation and Parole the discretion to charge each offender on probation, parole or conditional release supervision an intervention fee of up to $60 per month. Funds generated from this fee are to be deposited in the Inmate Revolving Fund and may be used to pay the costs of community corrections and intervention services for clients. Such services include substance abuse assessment and treatment, mental health assessment and treatment, electronic monitoring services, residential facilities services, employment placement services, and other offender community corrections or intervention services designated by the board to assist clients to successfully complete probation, parole or conditional release. As a result of this legislation, the division decided to begin collecting a $30 per month intervention fee on April 1, 2006.
Somehow in what you just read the DOC is attempting to justify spending $12.5 million dollars on new computers. I have heard them say it will help the DOC better serve the offenders as their computer system is 20 years old.
I have never seen a computer treat an addict nor seen a computer calm down a suicidal person. It appears to me if their computers are 20 years old this is a mismanagement issue of the administration; not a need to mug the offenders of their intervention fee.
I truly believe there is a great need for offenders to receive the services they pay for as well as a great need for the insurance you and I provide as taxpayers, Missouri Medicaid, to hold DOC accountable and spend the money they have collected on what they are supposed to spend it on. Not new computers.
The tragedy of this story is individuals placed on probation and parole do not have a voice. If they would complain about their fees or questions why they had to pay they would probably get into trouble with their probation officer as they would not be "following directives."
The truth is this: Who cares about the offender who has to pay $30 per month? Who cares what the DOC does with the money? I do as I pay for Medicaid and Medicare -- in an overburdened system already, you and I are picking up the tab that Missouri DOC is capable of paying for!