Substance Abuse Intervention Division (SAID): New York City Department of Corrections' Drug Treatment Program for Women Offenders

This description of the Substance Abuse Intervention Division for women offenders covers background information, program features (including client eligibility criteria), client selection process (including needs assessment), treatment intervention/delivery, and discharge and aftercare. The ultimate goal of the SAID program is to prepare participants to reenter the community as drug-free members of society. The program seeks to teach inmates how to: (1) reestablish or improve relationships within their families, especially with their children; (2) strengthen marital commitment; (3) deal effectively with community agencies; (4) channel their aggression in more constructive ways; and (5) improve self-esteem. The program emphasizes discipline and developing basic habits. There is a family orientation, in which conflict is mediated by peer pressure and group resolution. Inmates leave the program either by being discharged, by requesting to be moved out of the program, or by being expelled for acting out violently.