title: Civil legal needs of individuals in drug treatment.
abstract: This report describes the findings of a pilot study that examined 17 domains of civil legal problems among individuals in drug treatment in one urban setting, the extent to which they seek help to resolve a potential legal problem, and their reasons for not seeking legal assistance. More than half the participants reported at least one legal problem related to health care and/or work, and nearly half reported legal problems related to their family, civil liberties, and/or neighborhood/community concerns. Less than one in five, however, sought legal assistance for problems in the five top-ranked domains, with the exception of family problems. The primary reasons for not seeking assistance were a lack of awareness that a problem was a legal issue and/or uncertainty about who could help. While preliminary in nature, the pilot study suggests that a significant proportion of treatment clients have civil legal problems and that treatment programs could help clients identify legal problems and resources for assistance.
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland School of Law, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. eweber@law.umaryland.edu
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: Rachel C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Grunberger
authors.forename: Kevin E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: O'Grady
authors.forename: Amelia M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Arria
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015142:Baltimore; D002961:Civil Rights / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003416:Criminal Law / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011287:Prejudice; D012940:Social Problems / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation