Program
Treatment Program for prisoners
Many challenges confront the criminal justice system. One major perennial question is: How can we more effectively deal with individuals who have drug and alcohol problems and are also involved in criminal activity? The complex relationships between drugs and crime have been extensively analyzed. Generally, these studies confirm that drug and alcohol abuse is associated with criminal activity.The magnitude of this problem is also indicated by the recurring finding that about 70 percent of the arrestees sampled by the Drug Use Forecasting program have tested positive for recent drug use. Such findings suggest that it is very important for criminal justice agencies working with offenders to improve their ability to impact the drug and alcohol abuse problems that undermine released inmates ' chances of staying out of trouble.( Holder, H., 1991)
The focus of this evaluation will be first of all to assess the impact of the IRP with the hypothesis that inmates who graduate from this program will have less post-program criminal activity than: (a) they had in the year before their arrest, (b) those who started but did not complete the treatment program, and (c) those inmates in the control group who did not receive special drug and alcohol treatment. Secondly, an assessment of the cost effectiveness of this program will be summarized. Finally, several insights are identified that suggest ways in which future versions of this type of program could be modified to increase further the chances of implementing a more successful drug and alcohol program in a jail facility.
The IRP has evolved into a 5-week treatment program that takes place in the jail facility. When inmates are not participating in the program, they are returned to their cell blocks with the rest of the inmate population. The IRP is, therefore, identified as a day treatment model in contrast to a therapeutic community model in which clients are totally immersed in a
Many challenges confront the criminal justice system. One major perennial question is: How can we more effectively deal with individuals who have drug and alcohol problems and are also involved in criminal activity? The complex relationships between drugs and crime have been extensively analyzed. Generally, these studies confirm that drug and alcohol abuse is associated with criminal activity.The magnitude of this problem is also indicated by the recurring finding that about 70 percent of the arrestees sampled by the Drug Use Forecasting program have tested positive for recent drug use. Such findings suggest that it is very important for criminal justice agencies working with offenders to improve their ability to impact the drug and alcohol abuse problems that undermine released inmates ' chances of staying out of trouble.( Holder, H., 1991)
The focus of this evaluation will be first of all to assess the impact of the IRP with the hypothesis that inmates who graduate from this program will have less post-program criminal activity than: (a) they had in the year before their arrest, (b) those who started but did not complete the treatment program, and (c) those inmates in the control group who did not receive special drug and alcohol treatment. Secondly, an assessment of the cost effectiveness of this program will be summarized. Finally, several insights are identified that suggest ways in which future versions of this type of program could be modified to increase further the chances of implementing a more successful drug and alcohol program in a jail facility.
The IRP has evolved into a 5-week treatment program that takes place in the jail facility. When inmates are not participating in the program, they are returned to their cell blocks with the rest of the inmate population. The IRP is, therefore, identified as a day treatment model in contrast to a therapeutic community model in which clients are totally immersed in a
References: Holder, H., Longbaugh, R., Miller, W., & Rubonis, A. (1991). The cost effectiveness of treatment for alcoholism. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 52(6), 517-540. Peters, R.H., Kerns, W.D., Murin, M.R., Dolente, A.S., & May, R.L. (1997). Examining the effectiveness of in-jail substance abuse treatment. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 19(3/4) Rose., Falkin, G.P.,. (2000). Outcome evaluation of prison therapeutic community for substance abuse treatment. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 17(1), 71-92. Wexler, H.K., Falkin, G.P., Lipton, D.S., & Rosenblum, A.B. (1994). Progress in prison substance abuse treatment: A five year