Process Evaluation of the Forever Free Substance Abuse Treatment Program

• NCJ Number: 183013
• Author(s): Michael Prendergast Ph.D.; Jean Wellisch Ph.D.; Dana M. Baldwin Ph.D.; Elizabeth Hall Ph.D.
• Date Published: April 2000
• Length: 244 pages
• Grant Number(s): 97-RT-VX-K003
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description

Annotation

This is a process evaluation of the Forever Free Substance Abuse Treatment Program.

Abstract

Objectives of the process evaluation study were to: (1) document the history and current status of the program, especially linkages with community programs that provide continuity of care following release to parole; (2) select a treatment and a comparison group and collect background data and locator information on the subjects; (3) determine the psychosocial status of the treatment group; (4) determine the relationship that mothers in the treatment group have with their children; (5) disseminate findings of the project to policy makers, researchers and practitioners in criminal justice and drug treatment; and (6) establish the foundation for an outcome evaluation of the program. The study used the intake form completed by participants 1 month after program entry, the pre-release form completed by participants just prior to their release, the comparison group form and the locator form completed by all subjects in the study. Of the 119 women in the treatment group, only 4 did not graduate from the program; all 4 were removed for disciplinary reasons. Forty-seven (40.9 percent) of program graduates went on to residential treatment in the community. There were significant improvements in the participants' psychological functioning by the end of treatment. Only 36 percent of women with children said that participation in Forever Free would or might affect the custody of a child. The study recommends that future programs for substance-abusing women inmates should include services to address mother-child relationships, parenting skills and opportunities for improving bonding between mother and child. Notes, tables, references, appendixes