NCJ Number
168211
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 24 Issue: 3/4 Dated: (1997) Pages: 75-100
Date Published
1997
Length
26 pages
Annotation
Data from 222 offenders who took part in the Texas In-prison Therapeutic Community (ITC) treatment process and a comparison group of 75 parolees who were eligible but not sent to the treatment program were compared to determine the effectiveness of the treatment.
Abstract
Results revealed that 80 percent of the inmates referred to the ITC during this study graduated and that program graduates demonstrated marked reductions in their criminal and drug use activity from the 6 months before entering prison to the 6 months after leaving prison. In addition, ITC graduates, particularly those who completed the first phase of their aftercare program, had lower relapse and recidivism rates in the 6 months after prison than did the parolees in the comparison sample. They also reported highly favorable opinions about both the program and the counselors. Findings strongly suggest that the community-based aftercare component is an integral part of the treatment continuum. Findings also indicated that measurable positive effects resulted from the inmate drug treatment implemented in Texas. Figures and 21 references (Author abstract modified)