DOI: 10.3886/icpsr06628.v1
title: Drug Offender Treatment in Local Corrections in California and New York, 1991-1993
title: Version 1

description: The purpose of this multisite program evaluation project was to provide detailed and systematic descriptions of participants and treatment program components for a sample of five drug treatment programs in local jails. Three of the programs were located in California: Jail Education and Treatment (JET), Deciding, Educating, Understanding, Counseling, and Evaluation (DEUCE), and Rebuilding, Educating, Awareness, Counseling, and Hope (REACH). Two programs were in New York State: Substance Abuse Intervention Division (SAID) and New Beginnings. The project was aimed at assessing program completion rates as well as 12-month post-release recidivism for program participants versus matched controls. Background information obtained about the participating offenders includes sex, race, age, education, marital status, and employment status, as well as history of drug use, previous drug treatment, mental illness, inpatient/outpatient episodes, and offenses and sentencing. Additional data cover program location, dates of release from the program and from jail, type of program termination, type of residence upon release, and anticipated post-custody treatment. Information on each conviction/disposition was obtained through state criminal information systems, and state-level criminal history data (rap sheets) were collected for both the treatment and comparison groups. The unit of analysis is arrest events.
description: The purpose of this project was to provide detailed and systematic descriptions of participants and services for a sample of five drug treatment programs in local jails. The project was aimed at assessing program completion rates as well as 12-month post-release recidivism for program participants versus matched controls. An intended benefit of the research was to provide recommendations regarding the status and efficacy of drug treatment in jails.
description: Five drug treatment programs in local jails were selected for the study. Three of the programs were located in California: Jail Education and Treatment (JET), Deciding, Educating, Understanding, Counseling, and Evaluation (DEUCE), and Rebuilding, Educating, Awareness, Counseling, and Hope (REACH). Two programs were in New York State: Substance Abuse Intervention Division (SAID) and New Beginnings. The data were collected by sampling offenders who entered and exited the programs during the evaluation period. In most sites, program participants were interviewed by a program staff member or NCCD researcher at both program admission and release. If personal interviews were not possible, client files were examined. The admission data were collected to (1) provide a description of the offenders served, (2) provide a basis for comparing treatment and control groups to assure no a priori differences, and (3) provide a set of "offender" variables that could potentially predict outcome. To develop comparison groups, strategies tailored to each site had to be developed. For most sites, a sample of offenders serving time in the same facility but not participating in drug treatment was obtained (through computerized files) by matching on race, age, primary offense, and sentence length. A 12-month cut-off date was determined for each person based on his or her jail release date. Conviction and disposition data during the three years prior to jail admission were also collected. Although attempts were made to acquire complete conviction information for all study cases, this was not possible. In some cases, rap sheets could not be located. It is possible that the conviction leading to incarceration -- and inclusion in this sample -- was for an offense that was not reportable to the state, or that conviction was not obtained.
description: The jail admission form solicited demographic information such as sex, age, race, education, marital status, and employment status, as well as information on history of drug use, mental illness, inpatient/outpatient episodes, and previous drug treatment. The exit form contained dates of release from the program and from jail, as well as information about type of program termination, type of residence upon release, and anticipated post-custody treatment. Program location is identified for each respondent. The data also include offense and sentencing information for convictions prior to and subsequent to the current offense.
description: Response Rates: Not available.
description: Presence of Common Scales: None.
description: The study used a nonrandom sample of 1,428 arrestees from five different local jail sites. These sites were selected for several reasons, including their geographical convenience and their amenability to research. The study sites were also diverse with respect to program history and setting, participating offenders, services offered, and length of stay. Within each site arrestees participating in the available drug treatment program were selected, along with a matched sample of arrestees not participating in the program.
description: Datasets: DS1: Drug Offender Treatment in Local Corrections in California and New York, 1991-1993
description: Arrestees from five local jail sites in California and New York State with drug treatment programs.