Nevada Receives Almost $1 Million Grant for Aiding Prisoners

The federal government has awarded $978,000 to the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC) to “reduce recidivism among state prison inmates with a history of substance use disorder” (Gaita, 2016). 

The grant will fund a plan to help incarcerated males between the ages of eighteen and fifty-five “who are serving sentences for property crimes where drug use played a part in their offense, and who have been assessed as a moderate-to-very-high risk of committing another offense,” according to addiction news website The Fix (Gaita, 2016). The plan will also extend services to men with drug convictions outside of property crimes. Various state organizations will be administering the program such as the Nevada Division of Parole and Probation and the Veteran Services Administration, among others. 

NDOC Director James Dzurenda stated, “It is imperative that agencies have cross-access to information, and this grant will enable us to develop that data management system strengthening communication and information sharing, which will boost success rates” (Gaita, 2016).  

Property crimes made up a majority (80 percent) of all crimes committed in Nevada in 2014, and this plan aims to “reduce recidivism rates by 15 percent over the next two years, and 50 percent in the next half-decade” (Gaita, 2016). 

Gaita, P. (2016). Nevada receives nearly $1 million to aid prisoners with drug use history. Retrieved from https://www.thefix.com/nevada-receives-nearly-1-million-aid-prisoners-drug-use-history