NCJ Number
196428
Journal
Corrections Today Magazine Volume: 64 Issue: 5 Dated: August 2002 Pages: 64-66,113
Date Published
August 2002
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Incentives can provide offenders with the motivation they need to volunteer for drug treatment, even if the initial goal is to gain the incentives rather than to give up drug use or criminal activity.
Abstract
Research has consistently found that offenders' motivations for entering drug treatment are not as important in treatment outcome as other factors. Major longitudinal studies have found drug treatment effectiveness to be directly related to the length of stay in treatment. Incentives such as avoidance of incarceration, a shorter incarceration, or a more comfortable incarceration can provide the motivation for offenders to volunteer for treatment and remain in treatment long enough to obtain benefits that lead to reductions in substance abuse and criminal activity. The issue in drug treatment is not so much the initial motivation of the offender for entering treatment, but rather the effectiveness of the treatment itself. Treatment should be intensive, long-term (3 to 9 months), behavioral in nature, and focus on the high-risk offender. Behavioral strategies should be enforced in a firm but fair manner by qualified staff; and treatment should target the antisocial attitudes, values, and beliefs that support criminal behavior, negative peer associations, and substance abuse. Further, treatment providers should be responsive to offenders' learning styles and personalities and should relate to offenders in interpersonally sensitive and constructive ways. They should be trained and supervised appropriately. In addition, treatment should provide relapse prevention in the community as well as linkage and referral to community services for institution-based programs. 6 notes