COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Gov. John Kasich'sproposed $72 billion budget would boost the number of state workers helping prison inmates beat drug and alcohol addiction.
The proposal shifts such treatment from the state prisons agency to the department that handles addiction services and boosts the number of staff members involved, currently about 120.
Tracy Plouck (plowk), director of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, says that while nearly six of every 10 inmates need some kind of addictions treatment, fewer than one in 10 receive it.
Plouck says recidivism rates for inmates who receive treatment is 10 percent, compared to 27 percent overall.
The proposal calls for $27.4 million next year and $34.3 million in 2017.
