NCJ Number
187358
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 32 Issue: 3 Dated: 2001 Pages: 63-78
Editor(s)
Nathaniel J. Pallone Ph.D.
Date Published
2001
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This article looks at the impact of a prison-based substance abuse treatment program (therapeutic communities) on the overall management and institutional operations of its host prison.
Abstract
Considering the impact of treatment programs on institutional operations provides an additional dimension to the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of such programs. Prior research on the effects of therapeutic communities on the host institution is based on programs in which admission was voluntary. In this present study, an attempt is made to replicate these findings at the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility (SATF) in Corcoran, California. At SATF, approximately 80 percent of its residents were admitted involuntarily. The article begins with a description of the SATF where the data is being collected. A brief discussion of the therapeutic community model is then presented with the sections following describing the methods of the study. Results from the Correctional Institutions Environment Scale indicated that correctional officers who work on the treatment yards at SATF rate the institutional environment more favorably than correctional officer at other institutions that lack treatment programs. It is reasonable to assume that the differences translate into fewer day-to-day problems, less conflict among inmates and with correctional officers, and improved morale among correctional officers. The expectation that the presence of in-prison therapeutic communities have a positive and beneficial effect on the custodial behavior of participating inmates is supported. References and Appendix A