WELLINGTON, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government has budgeted 83.4 million U.S. dollars to boost mental health and addiction services for offenders, announced New Zealand Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis on Monday.
The investment will enable more people to access better mental health and Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) services both in prisons and the community.
"This expansion of services will help reduce reoffending by targeting some of the key drivers of crime and barriers to rehabilitation," said Davis.
The expanded mental health services, once fully implemented, will support up to 2,310 additional offenders with mild to moderate mental health needs per year.
The budget will also increase mental health clinicians from 38 to 63, which will allow national coverage of services across prisons and community sites. 15 new support workers will also be recruited to assist clinicians working with offenders in the community.
"We can't expect to reduce reoffending and see fewer victims of crime if we don't deal with the issues that landed people in prison or on a community sentence in the first place", said Davis.
This funding also includes services for the family of offenders who need mental health services, supported living accommodation for offenders with intensive mental health needs who are transitioning to the community, and expanded counseling services to help offenders reconnect with their family and transition back into the community.
The funding forms part of the New Zealand government's record 1.24 billion U.S. dollar investment in mental health and addiction support for New Zealanders.
