DOI: 10.3886/icpsr06214.v1
title: Evaluation of the Focused Offender Disposition Program in Birmingham, Phoenix, and Chicago, 1988-1992
title: Version 1

description: The Drug Testing Technology/Focused Offender Disposition
(FOD) program was designed to examine two issues regarding drug users
in the criminal justice system: (1) the utility of need assessment
instruments in appropriately determining the level of treatment and/or
supervision needed by criminal offenders with a history of drug use,
and (2) the use of urinalysis monitoring as a deterrent to subsequent
drug use. This data collection consists of four datasets from three
sites. The FOD program was first established in Birmingham, Alabama,
and Phoenix, Arizona, in December 1988 and ran through August
1990. The Chicago, Illinois, program began in October 1990 and ended
in March 1992. These first three programs studied probationers with a
history of recent drug use who were not incarcerated while awaiting
sentencing. The subjects were assessed with one of two different
treatment instruments. Half of all clients were assessed with the
objective Offender Profile Index (OPI) created by the National
Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD). The
other half were assessed with the local instrument administered in
each site by Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime (TASC),
Inc. Regardless of which assessment procedure was used, offenders were
then randomly assigned to one of two groups. Half of all offenders
assessed by the OPI and half of the offenders assessed by the local
instrument were assigned to a control group that received only random
urinalysis monitoring regardless of the drug treatment intervention
strategy prescribed by the assessment instrument. The other half of
offenders in each assessment group were assigned to a treatment group
that received appropriate drug intervention treatment. The Phoenix
pilot study (Part 4), which ran from March 1991 to May 1992, was
designed like the first Phoenix study, except that the sample for the
pilot study was drawn from convicted felons who were jailed prior to
sentencing and who were expected to be sentenced to probation. These
data contain administrative information, such as current offense,
number of arrests, number of convictions, and prior charges. The need
assessment instruments were used to gather data on clients' living
arrangements, educational and vocational backgrounds, friendships,
history of mental problems, drug use history, and scores measuring
stakes in conformity. In addition, the study specifically collected
information on the monitoring of the clients while in the FOD program,
including the number of urinalyses administered and their results, as
well as the placement of clients in treatment programs. The files also
contain demographic information, such as age, race, sex, and
education.
description: The Drug Testing Technology/Focused Offender
 Disposition (FOD) program was designed to examine two questions
 regarding drug users in the criminal justice system. One was the
 utility of need assessment instruments in appropriately determining
 the level of treatment and/or supervision needed by criminal offenders
 with a history of drug use. Specifically, the researchers wanted to
 test whether the Offender Profile Index instrument provided a more
 accurate assessment of the treatment needs of drug-using probationers
 than the local assessment instrument used at each site. The second
 question focused on the use of urinalysis monitoring as a deterrent to
 subsequent drug use. Researchers asked whether urinalysis monitoring
 alone was as successful as when urinalysis monitoring was combined
 with some standard treatment-based intervention. After the completion
 of the original FOD program in Phoenix, a pilot program was developed
 to include only those offenders on probation who were detained in jail
 prior to sentencing. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the
 constraints involved in implementing a FOD program with this
 particular offender population. In addition, the researchers sought to
 compare the success of urinalysis monitoring between regular
 probationers and probationers who served jail time prior to
sentencing.
description: The FOD program was first established in
 Birmingham, Alabama, and Phoenix, Arizona, in December 1988 and ran
 through August 1990. The Chicago, Illinois, program began in October
 1990 and ended in March 1992. The program at each site provided an
 experimental design for evaluative analysis. The design called for
 probationers with a history of recent drug use to be assessed with one
 of two different treatment instruments. Half of all clients were
 assessed with the objective Offender Profile Index (OPI) designed by
 the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors
 (NASADAD). The other half were assessed with the local instrument
 administered in each site by Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime
 (TASC), Inc., a nationwide service provider that assesses and
 sometimes treats drug users. The local TASC instrument in Birmingham
 and Chicago was a highly subjective clinical interview, while the
 Phoenix TASC assessment was a more objective instrument called the
 Risk Assessment Scale (RAS). After administering the instrument, the
 clients' levels of assessed need were grouped into four categories:
 (1) urinalysis only, (2) outpatient care with urinalysis, (3)
 short-term residential care with urinalysis, and (4) long-term
 residential care with urinalysis. Regardless of which assessment
 procedure was used, offenders were then randomly assigned to one of
 two groups. Half of all offenders assessed by the OPI and half of the
 offenders assessed by the local instrument were assigned to a control
 group. Control group clients received only a program of random
 urinalysis monitoring, regardless of the drug treatment intervention
 strategy prescribed by the assessment instrument. The other half of
 offenders in each assessment group were assigned to the treatment
 group. These clients received the drug intervention treatment
 consistent with their assessed need for treatment. Due to important
 differences in the implementation of the FOD program at each site and
 the characteristics of the probationers who participated in the
 program, comparisons among the three sites are not recommended. The
 Phoenix pilot study, which ran from March 1991 to May 1992, was
 designed like the first Phoenix study, except that the sample for the
 pilot study was drawn from convicted felons who were jailed prior to
sentencing and who were expected to be sentenced to probation.
description: These data contain administrative information, such
 as current offense, number of arrests, number of convictions, and
 prior charges. The need assessment instruments were used to gather
 data on clients' living arrangements, educational and vocational
 backgrounds, friendships, history of mental problems, drug use
 history, and scores measuring stakes in conformity. In addition, the
 study specifically collected information on the monitoring of the
 clients while in the FOD program, including the number of urinalyses
 administered and their results, as well as the placement of clients in
 treatment programs. The files also contain demographic information,
such as age, race, sex, and education.
description: Response Rates: Not applicable.
description: Presence of Common Scales: Several Likert-type scales were used.
description: The original FOD program included offenders with a history
 of recent drug use who were placed on probation and who were not
 incarcerated while awaiting sentencing. Participation was mandated in
 Birmingham and in some cases in Chicago, and voluntary in Phoenix and
 in some cases in Chicago. The Phoenix follow-up pilot study
 participants were referred to the program by pre-sentence
 investigators and included only those qualified offenders who were
incarcerated while awaiting sentencing.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Birmingham Data
DS2: Phoenix Data
DS3: Chicago Data
DS4: Phoenix In-Jail Pilot Data
description: Probationers.
description: The user guide, codebook, and data collection
instruments are provided as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. The
PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be
accessed using PDF reader software, such as the Adobe Acrobat
Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is
provided through the ICPSR Website on the Internet.