Comparing the impact of standard and abbreviated treatment in a therapeutic community. Findings from the district of Columbia treatment initiative experiment. Modified TC for MICA offenders: crime outcomes. Adapting judicial supervision to the risk level of drug offenders: discharge and 6-month outcomes from a prospective matching study. Multisystemic treatment of substance-abusing and dependent delinquents: outcomes, treatment fidelity, and transportability. Increasing participation in substance abuse aftercare treatment.
This study examines the efficacy of providing Enhanced Abbreviated or Standard Inpatient treatment and Outpatient treatment to drug-abusing clients. The experiment randomly assigned 412 clients to two therapeutic community programs, which differed primarily in planned duration. This study addressed limitations of prior research, as it used random assignment of clients to treatment programs, achieved high follow-up rates and used objective measures of drug use and criminal history. Self-reports and objective measures of criminal activity and substance abuse were collected at pre- and posttreatment interviews. Completing the entire 12-month program (inpatient and outpatient) was more important than duration of inpatient program attended. Regardless of program, completers had substantial reductions in posttreatment drug abuse and arrests. A 12-month course of treatment including at least 6 months in a therapeutic community followed by outpatient treatment can produce marked reductions in drug abuse and crime among persons who complete both phases. The study randomly assigned male inmates with co-occurring serious mental illness and chemical abuse (MICA) disorders to either modified therapeutic community (MTC) or mental health (MH) treatment programs. On their release from prison, MICA inmates who completed the prison MTC program could enter the MTC aftercare program. The results, obtained from an intent-to-treat analysis of all study entries, showed that inmates randomized into the MTC group had significantly lower rates of reincarceration compared with those in the MH group. The results also show that differences between the MTC + aftercare and comparison group across a variety of crime outcomes (i.e. any criminal activity, and alcohol or drug related criminal activity) are consistent and significant, and persist after an examination of various threats to validity (e.g. initial motivation, duration of treatment, exposure to risk). This study provides some support for the effectiveness of the prison TC only condition. The findings are encouraging and consonant with other studies of integrated prison and aftercare TC programs for substance abusing non-MICA offenders, although qualified by the possibility that selection bias (i.e. differences in motivation on entry into aftercare) may be operating. Nevertheless, given the available evidence and the need for effective programming for MICA offenders, program and policy makers should strongly consider developing integrated prison and aftercare modified TC programs for MICA offenders.
                Copyright 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This article reports recent findings from a program of experimental research examining the effects of adapting judicial supervision to the risk level of drug-abusing offenders. Prior studies revealed that high-risk participants with (1) antisocial personality disorder or (2) a history of drug abuse treatment performed significantly better in drug court when they were scheduled to attend frequent, bi-weekly judicial status hearings in court. Low-risk participants performed equivalently regardless of the schedule of court hearings. The current study prospectively matched misdemeanor drug court clients to the optimal schedule of court hearings based upon an assessment of their risk status, and compared outcomes to those of clients randomly assigned to the standard schedule of court hearings. Results confirmed that high-risk participants graduated at a higher rate, provided more drug-negative urine specimens at 6 months post-admission, and reported significantly less drug use and alcohol intoxication at 6 months post-admission when they were matched to bi-weekly hearings as compared to the usual schedule of hearings. These findings yield practical information for enhancing the efficacy and cost-efficiency of drug court services. Directions for future research on adaptive programming for drug offenders are discussed. The effectiveness and transportability of multisystemic therapy (MST) were examined in a study that included 118 juvenile offenders meeting DSM-III-R criteria for substance abuse or dependence and their families. Participants were randomly assigned to receive MST versus usual community services. Outcome measures assessed drug use, criminal activity, and days in out-of-home placement at posttreatment (T2) and at a 6-month posttreatment follow-up (T3); also treatment adherence was examined from multiple perspectives (i.e., caregiver, youth, and therapist). MST reduced alcohol, marijuana, and other drug use at T2 and total days in out-of-home placement by 50% at T3. Reductions in criminal activity, however, were not as large as have been obtained previously for MST. Examination of treatment adherence measures suggests that the modest results of MST were due, at least in part, to difficulty in transporting this complex treatment model from the direct control of its developers. Increased emphasis on quality assurance mechanisms to enhance treatment fidelity may help overcome barriers to transportability. Increasing the length of participation in alcohol and drug treatment is associated with improved outcomes (1). The present study was designed to increase substance abuse aftercare participation following completion of inpatient treatment. We compared the effect of a 20-minute aftercare orientation session to a minimal treatment condition on aftercare group therapy participation. The orientation session was conducted by an aftercare group therapist, who met with the participant to encourage him to attend aftercare, to explain why aftercare is helpful, and to have him sign an aftercare participation contract. Participants in the minimal treatment condition watched a videotape on motivation to reach goals. Participants were 40 males in an inpatient substance abuse treatment program at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC). Ninety percent were alcohol dependent; 35% were cocaine dependent; 10% were marijuana dependent; and 10% were polysubstance dependent. Participants who received the aftercare orientation were more likely to attend aftercare (70%) than those who received the minimal treatment (40%). Additionally, the former group attended more sessions (x = 3.0) than those who were not oriented to aftercare (x = 1.4). The utility and limitations of a brief orientation session on aftercare adherence are discussed.
Limited conclusions can be drawn about the effectiveness of drug treatment programmes for drug-using offenders in the courts or the community. This is partly due to the broad range of studies and the heterogeneity of the different outcome measures presented. Therapeutic communities with aftercare show promising results for the reduction of drug use and criminal activity in drug using offenders. Standardisation of outcome measures and costing methodology would help improve the quality of research conducted in the area.