Despite this fact, treatment issues for drug-abusing women have received very little attention. Increasing numbers of women dealing with drug-related issues find themselves treated not in community settings but in the criminal justice system. The correctional environment poses special advocacy challenges. The role of advocate can no longer be performed by any one single entity. As advocates for quality service delivery, counselors and providers of care must collaborate with clients and others advocating for changes in public policy.
Advocacy involves clients, their families, and the community.
In today's cost-driven treatment systems, women who are regarded as criminals seek treatment but face a number of barriers to essential elements of quality care. These barriers may include limited access to outpatient treatment, acceptance into jail without evaluation for drug abuse, or unavailability of prison-based programs. More than three times as many women are incarcerated today as there were in 1983. From 1983 to 1994, the number of incarcerated women grew by 212 percent, from 15,652 to 48,900. Correctional institutions vary in type and quality of services provided to treat women when addressing their substance abuse, addiction, family, health, and related social problems.