NCJ Number
189600
Journal
Corrections Compendium Volume: 26 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2001 Pages: 8-23
Editor(s)
Susan L. Clayton
Date Published
April 2001
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This national survey provided summary data on State drug treatment intervention strategies for offenders in 2000 ranging from drug testing, therapeutic treatment, and post-release services.
Abstract
This national survey conducted in 2000 provided State-by-State (of those States reporting) drug treatment intervention data on offenders incarcerated in State correctional facilities. Intervention strategies consisted of random drug testing within the general and treatment populations, therapeutic community treatment programs, psychotropic medications, pre-release planning, and transitional, follow-up, and aftercare release services. Select findings of the data included: (1) 38 States conducted random testing, 19 States tested monthly and 8 tested the treatment population when there was suspicion or cause; (2) sanctions were imposed on inmates failing drug tests consisting of segregation, elimination of some privileges, or loss of good time; (3) therapeutic community treatment programs were operated by 81 percent of the reporting systems and 93 percent placed specific education courses as a priority for their treatment populations; (4) determinations for the provision of psychotropic medications seemed to rest primarily with a psychiatrist; (5) 40 State systems identified pre-release planning options for their treatment populations which included 98 percent offering general education development and 80 percent offering attitude and relationship skills training and job interviewing strategies and employment application assistance; and (6) transitional release services abounded across the States with follow-up and aftercare assistance release programs extensive for the treatment population. Trends in the numbers of positive-testing offenders were increasing, remaining the same, or decreasing. Fifty-three percent of the responding States noted that the incidence of positive drug tests was decreasing.