In New Jersey, people on supervision can be sent back to prison, not for committing new crimes, but for relapsing or missing curfew. A single relapse can mean months behind bars, long enough to lose your job, your home, and sometimes even custody of your children. 

The numbers are stark:

• Two out of three people on parole sent back to prison are returned for non-criminal violations.
• The average time served for non-criminal violations of parole is over 14 months. 
• More than 70% of people in New Jersey prisons struggle with substance use disorder.

Too often, the response to relapse is prison, which tears people away from the treatment and recovery support they depend on, and makes the next setback more likely. That’s how supervision becomes a revolving door to prison instead of a path to recovery. 

There’s a better way.

The Substance Abuse Recovery & Accountability Act (A5311 / S4492) shifts the focus toward treatment, recovery, and successful reentry, while giving officers the tools to actually support rehabilitation.

The bill would:

✅ Prioritize treatment over incarceration
✅ Incentivize and reward success
✅ Cap incarceration for non-criminal violations
✅ Protect basic rights at parole revocation hearings
✅ Give officers more tools to hold people accountable and support reentry

New Jersey spends $90 million a year locking people up for non-criminal parole violations. This bill shifts the system toward solutions that work better and cost less: treatment and support, not a prison cell. The Substance Abuse Recovery & Accountability Act would help create a more effective supervision system that supports recovery, reduces unnecessary incarceration, and helps people successfully reintegrate into their communities.