Evaluation of the Texas Youth Commission's Chemical Dependency Treatment Program, 1998-1999

This study consists of data from both the process
evaluation and the outcome evaluation of the Texas Youth Commission's
(TYC) Chemical Dependency Treatment Program (CDTP). The research goal
of the first part of the study was to provide a systematic and
empirical process evaluation of appropriate program placement and
whether and to what extent selected individual-level factors were
related to key measures of program progress, as well as to variations
in process outcomes across each of five treatment sites. The research
goal of the second part of the study was to provide a systematic and
empirical outcome evaluation of the impact of the TYC Chemical
Dependency Treatment Program, including determination of the extent to
which certain risk, need, amenability, program performance and
delivery, and aftercare factors affected treatment impact. Data were
obtained from the Texas Youth Commission, the state corrections agency
responsible for serving violent and serious delinquent youth committed
to the custody of the state. TYC collects a range of information on
the risk, needs, and treatment amenability of its youths. Also,
program performance is measured through the use of an exit assessment
conducted by program staff, which essentially provides a report card
summarizing each youth's involvement and progress in treatment. Data
in this evaluation cover all juveniles who entered the CDTP from
January through October 1998, and who were discharged by April 1,
1999. The treatment group consists of youths who invariably had a high
need for chemical dependency treatment. The control group consists of
youths who were eligible for treatment in the CDTP during this same
time period but who did not receive it due to limited CDTP bed
space. To obtain measures of drug use/abuse relapse, aftercare
participation, and parole performance, a parolee data worksheet was
created. TYC was able to provide information on who received chemical
dependency treatment while on parole. Five core variables of the
process evaluation data are program completion, program expulsion,
days to completion, days to expulsion, and number of behavior
infractions. The process evaluation includes the following variables
from individual exit assessments: the youth's overall participation,
whether the youth understood the curriculum, understood addiction,
sought help, acknowledged addiction, and acknowledged impact, the
youth's performance grade, whether the youth committed to be
drug-free, family involvement, special circumstances, and performance
index. Demographic variables are race, age, parents' marital status,
and gender. Variables addressing risk factors include classifying
offense, offender class, risk level, number of felony referrals,
number of felony adjudications, number of previous TYC commitments,
and number of parole revocations. Other variables in the process
evaluation address the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory
(SASSI), the Diagnostic Statistical Manual IV (DSM-IV) chemical
dependency treatment need, TYC treatment amenability score, and the
Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale
(SOCRATES). Variables available in the outcome evaluation data address
issues of rearrest, higher custody level, aftercare sessions, drug
tests, and parole compliance.