Evaluation of Prison Based Drug Treatment in Pennsylvania: A Research Collaboration Between the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and the Center for Public Policy at Temple University, Final Report

摘要

The time that drug-involved offenders are incarcerated affords a critical opportunity to break the cycle of drug abuse and recidivism by providing effective treatment. An in-prison Therapeutic Community is an intensive, long-term, highly structured, residential treatment modality for hard-core drug users convicted of a criminal offense. TC emphasizes the necessity of the inmate taking responsibility for his/her behavior before, during, and after treatment. Several evaluations of in-prison TC have produced promising results. However, studies have been criticized for small sample sizes, faulty research designs (e.g., selection and attrition biases), and inadequate attention to interactions between inmate characteristics, treatment process, and treatment outcomes. No studies have examined prison-based TC across multiple sites nor attempted to include programmatic and contextual variations in analyses of outcome. Numerous questions remain about the true impact of prison-based TC, and the potential impacts of unmeasured variations in inmate characteristics, treatment programs, and multiple outcome measures. In this study, we examine in more detail the individual and programmatic factors associated with effective drug treatment across multiple sites. We examine relationships between inmate characteristics, treatment process, and treatment outcomes, and discuss critical issues in prison based drug treatment programming and policies. We provide recommendations intended to assist correctional agencies in designing, implementing, and evaluating programs that are responsive to the drug treatment needs of their prison populations.