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Current Issue - December 2008

Statewide corrections forums seek to break cycle of arrests
A quarter century of misguided sentencing and corrections policies is apparently enough for Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer). Watson Coleman, chairing a series of Second Chance hearings on corrections and sentencing reform, has set lofty expectations for the outcome of those sessions.

Lower drinking age not in offing; task force on youth drinking proposed
Carrots and sticks, not a younger legal drinking age, were what most expert witnesses prescribed at a special New Jersey Senate Education Committee hearing examining undergraduate alcohol use at state colleges.

Drug courts yield hope, savings
“Nothing good comes out of being in jail.” A Union County Drug Court judge must have agreed with that statement by Kelly A., a 30-year-old cocaine addict from Roselle Park. That judge sent Kelly, who faced 12 charges of possession and distribution, to treatment rather than incarceration.

OSI grants awarded to confront state's treatment gap
The Open Society Institute recently announced a $750,000 grant to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence-New Jersey (NCADD-NJ) to expand access to high-quality treatment for drug and alcohol addiction for individuals who need it.