NCJ Number
169780
Date Published
1996
Length
453 pages
Annotation
This evaluation of seven diverse Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime (TASC) programs provides a comprehensive description of the historical context in which TASC programs have evolved and processes by which TASC programs serve as a broker between criminal justice agencies and community-based social services.
Abstract
The evaluation involved seven program sites in Alabama, Ohio, Illinois, Florida, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. TASC program outcomes were measured according to four domains: treatment services received, drug use, criminal recidivism, and HIV risk behavior. The evaluation also looked at the cost-effectiveness of TASC programs within the 6-month time frame of data collection. An effort was made to recruit offender samples that were representative of the population of offenders referred to the TASC program at each site. A total of 2,014 offenders agreed to participate and completed the intake interview; over 80 percent were relocated 6 months later and completed the follow-up interview. Evaluation findings showed the value of TASC programs depended on whether their existence in the community led to greater reductions in drug use and other problem behavior than would otherwise have been achieved. TASC outcomes across the seven sites were consistently favorable, although often modest or confined to high-risk offender subsamples. Reductions in drug use, crime, and HIV risk behavior, even where modest, represented strong and favorable support for TASC programs. Appendixes contain detailed data on TASC critical elements, evaluation procedures, and prediction equations. Tables and figures