Salta's provincial justice system and Ministry of Health have established a new interinstitutional framework targeting substance use disorders among adult criminal defendants to mitigate the risk of recidivism.
- Target Population: Adults over 18 facing criminal charges who are not currently incarcerated, including those under probation or conditional sentences.
- Clinical Linkage: Acceptance into the program requires a clinically demonstrated relationship between substance use patterns and criminal behavior.
- Intervention Structure: Participants undergo a mandatory two-month cycle consisting of weekly psychoeducational group workshops, individual therapeutic support, and social work monitoring.
The program applies exclusively to adults over 18 years of age who are in non-custodial legal arrangements, such as alternative measures to detention, suspended trials, or conditional executions of sentence. Access to the therapeutic cohorts is not automatic upon entering the criminal justice system. A clinical evaluation must establish a direct nexus between the patient’s substance use and their involvement in criminal acts.
Candidates must demonstrate voluntary acceptance of the therapeutic protocol, possess the stability necessary for outpatient care, and maintain a verifiable home address or reliable contact medium. The Office of Alternative and Substitutive Measures to Detain (OMAS) and the Ministry of Health conduct the initial screening, evaluating addiction severity, psychiatric risk factors, and social support networks.
The curriculum is delivered at a designated orientation facility on Sarmiento 491, focusing on emotional self-regulation, relapse prevention strategies, and reintegration tools. Oversight and clinical records remain strictly partitioned from the judicial process.
Information shared with the court is limited exclusively to attendance and participation metrics, safeguarding clinical confidentiality under data protection standards. The initial pilot phase operates through structured two-month cycles, backed by a three-year institutional agreement between health authorities and the judiciary.
| Program Parameter | Operational Specification |
|---|---|
| Cohort Size | Maximum 10 participants per group |
| Cycle Duration | Approximately two months |
| Core Modalities | Weekly group psychoeducation, individual support, social work tracking |
| Institutional Oversight | OMAS, Oficina Judicial Penal, and Secretaría de Salud Mental y Adicciones |
The judicial-therapeutic initiative is restricted to adults and does not integrate minors under 18 years of age. This demographic boundary coincides with the implementation of National Law 27.801, which lowered the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 and established a specialized penal framework for adolescents focused on restorative justice and educational reintegration.
Minors under 14 remain entirely excluded from criminal prosecution, with welfare matters managed exclusively by youth protection agencies and public health networks. Consequently, adult addiction cohorts and adolescent penal measures operate through entirely distinct administrative and therapeutic pathways across the province.
Patients exhibiting acute psychiatric instability or imminent risk of self-harm require immediate escalation to emergency psychiatric care rather than outpatient legal-therapeutic tracking.
- Corte de Justicia de Salta. Acordada 14.783: Convenio Marco de Cooperación Interinstitucional. Poder Judicial de Salta.
- Ministerio de Salud Pública de Salta. Secretaría de Salud Mental y Adicciones: Protocolos de Intervención en Consumos Problemáticos.
- Congreso de la Nación Argentina. Ley Nacional 27.801: Régimen Penal Juvenil. Boletín Oficial de la República Argentina.
