Substance Abuse Programs

NRS 209.425 – Overview of Substance Abuse Programs Available in Nevada Prisons

Many correctional facilities in Nevada have specialized substance abuse programs available to inmates who are struggling with drug and alcohol abuse. According to NRS 209.425, these programs are specifically for those inmates who were imprisoned for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, whose DUI is being punished as a felony.

When Is a DUI Punished as a Felony?

Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is punishable as a felony when you:

• Receive a third DUI within seven years;
• Have a previous DUI that’s punishable as a felony;
• Receive a DUI resulting in a homicide;
• Receive a DUI resulting in death or substantial bodily harm;
• Receive a DUI on a water vessel resulting in death or significant physical injury;
• Receive a DUI on a water vessel resulting in a homicide;
• Receive a fourth DUI on a water vessel; and
• Receive a DUI after having a DUI resulting in a homicide or one resulting in a death or serious physical harm.

What Does the Substance Abuse Treatment Program Include?

The substance abuse treatment program in each Nevada prison must include:

• Intensive mental rehabilitation;
• Intensive physical rehabilitation;
• Counseling;
• Education; and
• Any other treatment that is found desirable or necessary.

The program may also include access to a work program. Being a part of the work program will allow you to begin making early payments toward what you’ll owe the Nevada prison by the end of your incarceration for room and board and toward any victim restitution you may owe. These payments will keep you from having to make it up after release and possibly having money garnished from wages that are already too slim. Access to this work program is only possible, though, if you ask for it.

How Do I Get into the Program?

You cannot get into the substance abuse treatment program without a thorough evaluation. This evaluation will determine if you are an alcohol or drug abuser and if you can be successfully treated for your condition. If the Director feels treatment is possible, you’ll be assigned to the treatment program.

Your assignment will be for the year preceding your release from prison – whether that release is from parole or directly from your term served inside the prison itself.

There are some things that the Director will consider before assigning any prisoner to the substance abuse treatment program in Nevada prisons:

1. Do you have a year remaining on your imprisonment term?
2. What is the likelihood that you will complete the program?

You Could Qualify to Live under House Arrest

Instead of serving the remainder of your term in prison, when you’re in the substance abuse treatment program, you might be allowed to serve the rest of your prison term on residential confinement, otherwise known as house arrest. This way, you will be able to hold a job or get an education as you wish.

To qualify, you must demonstrate:

1. The desire and ability to gain employment;
2. The desire and ability to enroll in vocational training, an education program, or a rehabilitation program; or
3. The ability to pay a portion of or all of the costs of your house arrest.

Before you’re released to house arrest, you must sign a document with the Division of Parole and Probation that states the terms and conditions of your confinement. As will be stated in the document, if you break these terms or conditions, you may be returned to prison and lose any credits you earned toward early release since this “release” into residential confinement is not parole but is still a continuation of your term of imprisonment.

You cannot be assigned to house arrest if you are in prison for battery constituting as domestic violence. This disqualification may be waived, however, if the Directors recognizes you as someone who is unlikely to pose a threat to your victim.

If you fail to respond to the substance abuse treatment program, the Director may withdraw you prematurely. The same is true if you choose or refuse to be noncompliant with the conditions of the program. If you’re not following the terms set forth, failing to take the necessary steps toward sobriety, you can’t progress in the treatment of your condition.