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Press Release
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AEGIS ENDORSES THE NONVIOLENT OFFENDER REHABILITATION ACT (NORA)
5/8/2008 - Canoga Park, California, Aegis announces its support of the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act (NORA), which has recently qualified for the November 2008 ballot. The new legislation, sponsored by the Drug Policy Alliance Network includes the most ambitious sentencing and prison reform measures in United States history.
Eight years ago Californians passed Proposition 36 (also known as the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act), which was a landmark in treatment-instead-of-incarceration law. Since then, Prop 36’s success has been confirmed in repeated studies by UCLA, and more than 84,000 have graduated from the program, resulting in taxpayer savings of over $1.5 billion.
According to Aegis Vice President Stephen Maulhardt, “Prop 36 has without a doubt been a huge success. We know that with treatment, people are able to control the painful and costly cycle of addiction and incarceration, reconnect with their families, and get back to being positive members of their communities.” Mr. Maulhardt stated that, “More than half of the participants in Prop 36 were new to treatment, that is, Prop 36 was their first exposure to substance abuse treatment.”
With this proven success behind them, the Drug Policy Alliance Network is sponsoring an expansion of Prop 36 that adds youth treatment as well as organizing a continuum of treatment in three tracks – Track 1 is PC1000, Track 2 is an expanded Prop 36 program and Track 3 is an expanded Drug Court.
“It is predicted that NORA will not only slow California’s rampant prison expansion, but it will actually reduce the number of people in prison by tens of thousands within just a few years, while maintaining public safety and saving taxpayers billions of dollars,” said Mr. Maulhardt, who also added, “Additionally, it provides a comprehensive model for a public health approach to substance abuse, which we know is a chronic relapsing disease that can be successfully treated.”
Mr. Maulhardt, who has served on the Prop 36 Statewide Advisory Group for over six years believes that NORA also acknowledges that Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), using drugs such as Methadone and Buprenorphine, is a key treatment component and NORA will strongly support the provision of MAT within all tracks of the treatment-instead-of-incarceration program as well as in custody (prison and jail) settings.
Aegis Medical Systems, Inc. operates the largest chain of narcotic treatment programs in California. Headquartered in Canoga Park, Aegis has 25 clinics throughout the state serving over 5,500 patients per day. For the last five years, Aegis has been pursuing a proactive agenda geared towards raising clinical standards and regulatory compliance, through reinforcement of its unique philosophy and organizational culture. The Aegis Family of Corporations includes Aegis Medical Systems, Inc., Aegis Institute, Inc. (a non-profit organization), and Nationwide Medical Group, Inc. (a professional corporation).
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