093_SR0139

                                     LRB093 11695 HSS 15358 r

 1                          SENATE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, Drug use and addiction continue to be one of the
 3    major contributing factors to the  perpetration  of  criminal
 4    activity in Illinois communities; and

 5        WHEREAS,  The  Cook  County State's Attorney's Office has
 6    begun an Offender Accountability Initiative that will provide
 7    substance  abuse   screening,   assessment,   and   treatment
 8    alternatives to every offender sentenced to probation in Cook
 9    County demonstrating drug use or addiction, the goal being to
10    intervene in the cycle of drug use and criminal behavior; and

11        WHEREAS, The Offender Accountability initiative stands as
12    a   national   model   strategy  for  collaboration  and  the
13    development of broad-based approaches for providing substance
14    abuse  interventions  to  large  numbers   of   drug-involved
15    offenders in urban criminal justice settings; and

16        WHEREAS,   The  impact  of  the  Offender  Accountability
17    Initiative will significantly  inform  criminal  justice  and
18    drug  policy  practice  and procedure in Illinois, as well as
19    nationally; therefore, be it

20        RESOLVED, BY  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  NINETY-THIRD  GENERAL
21    ASSEMBLY  OF  THE  STATE  OF ILLINOIS, that the Department of
22    Human Services shall convene a Task  Force  to  evaluate  the
23    impact of the Cook County Offender Accountability Initiative;
24    the Task Force shall consist of the Associate Director of the
25    Office  of  Alcoholism  and  Substance  Abuse,  or his or her
26    designee, who  shall  serve  as  co-chair;  the  Cook  County
27    State's  Attorney, or his or her designee, who shall serve as
28    co-chair; the presiding judge of the Criminal Division of the
29    Cook County Circuit Court; a  representative  from  the  Cook
30    County probation department; the president of TASC, Inc.; and
31    the president or executive director of a drug abuse treatment
32    provider  in  Cook  County,  to  be  named  by  the Office of
 
                            -2-      LRB093 11695 HSS 15358 r
 1    Alcoholism and Substance Abuse; and be it further

 2        RESOLVED, That the purpose of the Task Force shall be  to
 3    evaluate  the  impact  of  the  program initiated by the Cook
 4    County  State's  Attorney's  Office  wherein   all   eligible
 5    probationers  are  screened  for  substance  abuse  and given
 6    access to education, intervention,  and  treatment  services;
 7    the  Task Force shall examine, along with any other issues it
 8    chooses to investigate with  respect  to  this  program,  the
 9    following   issues:   (1)   the   numbers  of  offenders  who
10    participate in this program,  and  the  type  and  manner  of
11    services  they  receive,  (2)  the  impact  of the program on
12    caseloads and case processing in  the  Cook  County  criminal
13    justice  system,  (3)  the  impact of the program on the Cook
14    County substance abuse intervention and treatment system, (4)
15    the impact of the program in terms of reduction  or  increase
16    in  rearrest  rates,  violations  of  probation,  drug use of
17    participants, and other factors pertaining to recidivism, and
18    (5) the financial  impact  of  the  system  on  all  involved
19    parties  and  recommendations  for  funding  to  support  the
20    program; and be it further

21        RESOLVED,  That  the  the  members  of the Task Force, at
22    their discretion, may involve additional skilled experts  and
23    enlist  additional  members  and  support  staff;  and  be it
24    further

25        RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall convene at least  one
26    public hearing on or before September 1, 2003, to present its
27    research methodology and strategic plan for evaluation of the
28    program, and to entertain public testimony; and be it further

29        RESOLVED,   That   the   Task   Force  shall  report  its
30    preliminary findings to the General  Assembly  on  or  before
31    June  30,  2004,  at  which  point further direction shall be
32    given by the General Assembly.