The Plight of Providing Appropriate Substance Abuse Treatment Services to Offenders: Modeling the Gaps in Service Delivery

Abstract

Using data from the National Criminal Justice Treatment Practices (NCJTP) Survey, estimates of offenders participating in drug treatment services were generated. Existing drug treatment programs have a capacity to serve around 10% of offenders. The majority of available services are alcohol and drug education and group counseling, which are suited for people with low-threshold substance use disorders. Yet a third of the offenders are reported to have a severe disorder (dependency) requiring Substance Abuse Treatment Services 71 more intensive structured services. Offenders in prison and jail are more likely to have access to treatment services compared to offenders in the community. Regardless of the correctional setting, only a small portion of the offender population receives the appropriate level of treatment. The current delivery system is inadequate to reduce the risk of recidivism. Using the risk, need, and responsivity framework to address the adequacy of dealing with drug-involved offenders, the current service delivery does not embrace this model. An effective correctional system should not only expand treatment capacity but also provide appropriate services given the needs of offenders. The composition of the current system demands attention to providing more intensive services to effectively use resources and to focus on risk reduction strategies.

Race/ethnic disparities in the utilization of treatment for drug dependent inmates in U.S. State correctional facilities

“…Previous research has documented that although about two-thirds of state prison inmates with a history of drug use received any type of treatment prior to incarceration (Mumola & Karberg, 2006), only 33 percent of inmates report receiving any type of drug treatment since admission (Steven Belenko, Houser, & Welsh, 2012). In fact, national data suggests that existing treatment programs have the capacity to serve only about 10 percent of offenders (Taxman, Perdoni, & Caudy, 2013). The current study further shows that race/ethnicity is important to consider when examining utilization of prison services.…”

Access to Recovery and Recidivism Among Former Prison Inmates

“…Substance abuse treatment has the potential to produce beneficial outcomes for offenders under correctional supervision (Chandler, Fletcher, & Volkow, 2009; Lurigio, 2000; Taxman, Perdoni, & Caudy, 2013). Much of the evidence supporting the effectiveness of substance abuse treatment for offenders emanates from evaluations of prison-based therapeutic communities with aftercare upon release (Bahr, et al, 2012).…”

Effectiveness of a computerized motivational intervention on treatment initiation and substance use: Results from a randomized trial

“…Improved rates of treatment initiation could significantly reduce failures on community supervision, which fuel the use of jail or prison incarceration as responses to continued drug use (Phelps, 2013). Technology-based interventions may be particularly well suited to justice settings where the workforce has limited training in behavioral health (Bonta, Bourgon, Rugge, et al, 2011; Chadwick, Dawolf, & Serin, 2015) and there are relatively few treatment resources available (Taxman, Perdoni, & Caudy, 2013). One study of a prison-based substance abuse computer education program found that inmates had comparable attendance at a computerized intervention and similar gains in coping skills as traditional counseling groups (Chaple, Sacks, McKendrick, et al, 2014).…”