NCJ Number
206678
Date Published
March 2003
Length
31 pages
Annotation
This study examined DTAP model as an alternative to prison.
Abstract
Although drug abuse and addiction pervade America’s prisons, effective treatment programs that reduce drug use and aid in reducing recidivism do not exist in sufficient numbers to address the problem. Few drug-abusing sellers are permitted to enter treatment programs that divert them from incarceration. DTAP in Brooklyn, NY, is an exception. In lieu of prison, repeat non-violent felons are sent to a residential treatment facility. Those who successfully complete the program engage in 15 to 24 months of intensive drug treatment and vocational training. More than half of DTAP participants (52.6 percent) graduate from the program. Preliminary findings of post-treatment performance of DTAP participants indicate that given treatment, educational and vocational tools, and help improving their social skills, repeat drug offenders can make significant progress. Recidivism is the key measure of effectiveness for a felony diversion program. DTAP graduates are three and one-half more times likely to be employed than they were before arrest and entrance into the program. Also, DTAP’s results are achieved at about half the average cost of incarceration. The average cost for a participant in DTAP was $32,975 as compared to an average cost of $64,338 if that same individual had been placed in prison. Preliminary results suggest that DTAP is a concrete approach to dealing with high-risk substance involved nonviolent offenders, including those who sell drugs. It requires both accountability for crimes and treatment for substance abuse. Another key aspect of the DTAP approach is the effort to address the multiple needs of offenders, such as employment training and mental and physical health and family services. The DTAP model of providing long-term residential treatment to serious drug-addicted felony offenders should be tested in other jurisdictions to determine the replicability of the findings to date. Notes, appendix, references