Community Justice Programs in the Substance Abuse Division of UAB Department of Psychiatry, offers comprehensive case management, support and advocacy to individuals with behavioral health disorders at all points of the justice-system continuum. Through a variety of multi-system programs, Community Justice Programs offers services pivotal to the health and wellbeing of individuals and families affected by substance abuse and mental illness.

The program relies on research-based strategies to identify needs, develop solutions to address system gaps and evaluate program effectiveness to improve service coordination. Working with our internal research team, University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers and researchers from other institutions, Community Justice Programs is active in using program data to advance knowledge in the areas of treatment, recidivism, and systems change through research. Collaborative partnerships and support from agencies across health and justice systems have been and continue to be essential to the development, expansion and sustainability of programs.

History

Community Justice Programs, formerly known as Treatment Alternatives for Safer Communities (TASC) was established through a federal grant in 1973.  The funding served as an impetus for the creation of a formal partnership between justice and substance abuse treatment systems. Serving as Executive Director from 1978 until his retirement in 2016, Foster Cook’s vision and leadership combined with his passionate commitment to social justice advocacy fueled the program’s growth and sustainability over the past four decades.