NCJ Number
138624
Date Published
1992
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This paper reviews the extent of drug abuse among those incarcerated, the nature of prison drug treatment programs and their effectiveness, the use of the therapeutic- community treatment approach, and prospects and problems in prison drug treatment.
Abstract
All 22 cities currently participating in the Drug Use Forecasting system report significant levels of cocaine and other drug use among arrestees regardless of charge. It can be safely assumed that the proportion of drug-using offenders among those incarcerated is higher than their proportion among arrestees. In 1979 the National Institute on Drug Abuse conducted a comprehensive survey of drug abuse treatment programs in prison. It identified 160 treatment programs that serve approximately 10,000 inmates (4 percent of the prison population). In 1979, 32 percent of the programs were based on the therapeutic community (TC) model. More than 20 years of program-based and multimodality studies have yielded an impressive knowledge base on the TC treatment method. More than 40 percent of clients formally treated in TC's maintain favorable outcomes under stringent criteria (no illicit drug use and no crime), and an additional 30 percent improve over their pretreatment status (DeLeon 1989). Elements of successful programming, whatever the modality, are motivated and well-trained staff, the support of the prison administration, living space and therapeutic areas separate from the general prison population, adequate funding, and a reasonable degree of program autonomy. 53 references