Transcript Urban Adult Drug Courts: The Effect of Structural

Adult Drug Courts: The Effect of
Structural Differences on
Program Retention Rates
Natasha Williams, Ph.D., J.D., MPH
Post Doctoral Fellow, Morgan State University and Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute,
Baltimore, MD
Introduction
Drug courts are a major innovation in penal responses
to drug crime, and the first successful rehabilitation
movement since the mid-1970s. As a criminal justice
application of therapeutic jurisprudence theory, drug
courts are judicially supervised programs that place
the drug-abusing offender in an intensive communitybased drug treatment program that not only provides
treatment but other rehabilitative services such as job
training, parenting classes, and GED assistance. Upon
program completion, the court may dismiss the
original charge, reduce the sentence, set aside the
original sentence or offer a combination of these
remedies.
Therapeutic Jurisprudence
“Therapeutic jurisprudence is the study of
the role of law as a therapeutic agent. It
suggests that society should utilize the
theories, philosophies, and findings of
various disciplines to help shape and
develop the law… It uses social science to
study the extent to which the legal rule
promotes the psychological and physical
well-being of the people it affects.”
Theory Implications

Focuses on the socio-psychological ways in which
laws and legal processes affect individuals.
 Legal policy determinations are made based upon
empirical studies.
 Reliance on the social sciences to guide analysis
of the law.
 Proposes that the legal community look to the
other social sciences for their solutions before
enacting law.
Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Its
Application to Drug Court Research





Outcome oriented, looking at the effects produced by the
legal system and inquiring into their causes.
Focuses on consequences, on empirically verifiable results
based on various social sciences.
Legal and jurisprudential foundation of the drug court
movement.
Represents the adoption and integration of drug treatment
methodologies into the judicial setting.
Drug courts represent the first consistent use of therapeutic
jurisprudence in the criminal justice system.
What is a Drug Court?

Non-adversarial approach

Early identification of eligible participants

Ongoing judicial interaction with each drug
court participant
What is a Drug Court? (cont’d)

Abstinence monitored by frequent drug
testing
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Graduated rewards and sanctions for
compliance and noncompliance

Synthesis of therapeutic treatment and
judicial process
Research Question
How do the structural differences among
urban adult drug courts affect program
retention rates?
 Treatment services (matching clients)
 Rehabilitation services (linkages)
 Duration of treatment (adequate duration)
 Graduated sanctions and rewards
(behavioral change through leverage)
Hypotheses

Ho1: The number and type of treatment
services affect retention rates.
 Ho2: The number and type of rehabilitation
services affect retention rates.
 Ho3: The duration of treatment affects
retention rates.
 Ho4: The type and frequency of graduated
sanctions and rewards affect retention rates.
Theoretical Framework
The community supervision treatment
model combines the theory of coerced
treatment with the elements of
community-based treatment. According
to this model, a program should possess
certain characteristics in order to
successfully treat drug-abusing offenders.
Theoretical Framework (cont’d)
Program Characteristics
 Accurate assessment of client needs
 Matching clients to treatment services
 Adequate duration of treatment
 Continuity of care
 Behavioral change by leverage
 Treatment integrity
 Linkages with other services
METHODS

Data source was the Drug Courts 1999 Program
Update Survey conducted by the U.S. Department
of Justice, Office of Justice Programs Drug Court
Clearinghouse and Technical Assistance Project
(DCCTAP)
 Survey was mailed to 210 adult drug courts that
were in operation as of December 31, 1999.
 Sample consisted of 146 adult drug courts that had
been in operation for at least twelve months.
 The data analysis involved factor analysis and
regression analysis
Data Analysis Plan

Descriptive statistics
 Data analysis techniques
- factor analysis
- reliability analysis
- correlation analysis
 Regression analysis
- multiple regression analysis
Dependent Variable
Retention rates - An indicator to which a
program has been successful at graduating
or retaining offenders as active program
participants.
Currently active and successfully completed
total number admitted
Descriptive Statistics:
Program Type (%)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Yes
Pretrial
Post Plea
Post Conviction
Descriptive Statistics:
Program Type (%)
100
80
60
Yes
40
20
0
Probationers
Reentry
Descriptive Statistics: Reported
Primary Drugs of Abuse (%)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Yes
Marijuana
Crack/Cocain
Polydrug
Descriptive Statistics: Reported
Primary Drugs of Abuse (%)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Yes
Alcohol
Meth
Heroin
Descriptive Statistics:
Services Provided (%)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Yes
Job Training
Family Services
Housing
Descriptive Statistics:
Services Provided (%)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Yes
Acupuncture Mental Health
Services
Medical
Screening
Data Analysis Results

Due to limitations of the drug courts’
various theoretical models and outcome
measures, the research design was unable to
explain the interaction among the structural
variables
Limitations
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Lack of client level data
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Recidivism data not available, therefore
retention rates used as outcome measure
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Respondent Bias
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Self-report survey
Discussion
 Expand
theoretical model to include a
domain specifically for model type
 Incorporate use of client level data
 Use recidivism data rather than
retention as outcome measure
 Develop longitudinal research designs
Implications for Future Research and
Policy

Develop consensus on what drug courts are
expected to achieve.
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Develop a baseline for drug court evaluation.

More theory and model building to determine
which program characteristics are most influential
on drug court retention so that programs can be
designed with these features in mind to better
serve drug court participants and to increase
program retention and decrease recidivism.
References
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Belenko, S. (2000). The challenges of integrating drug treatment into
the criminal justice process. Albany Law Review, 63, 833-872.
Pendergast, M. L., Anglin, D. M., & Wellisch, J. (1995). Treatment for
drug-abusing offenders under community supervision. Federal
Probation, 59(4), 66-75.
U.S. Department of Justice, (1998). Looking at a decade of drug
courts. Washington, D.C.: Drug Court Clearinghouse and Technical
Assistance Project.
U.S. Department of Justice, (1997). Defining drug courts: The key
components. Washington, D.C.: Drug Courts Program Office, Office of
Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
Winick, B. (1997). The jurisprudence of therapeutic jurisprudence.
Psychology, Public Policy and Law, 3, 184-206.
Acknowledgments

Mark Sciegaj, Ph.D., Director of the Center for
Research on Aging and Intergenerational Studies,
Lasell College
 Caroline Cooper, Associate Director, Justice
Programs Office, American University
 Drug Abuse Research Program (DARP), Morgan
State University
 Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute