This study evaluates the Substance Abuse Intervention Division (SAID) program for women at Riker's Island.
It is commonly believed that treatment services are best delivered by community treatment providers operating under contract with correctional agencies. Making use of Moos's Correctional Institutional Environmental Scale, this study suggests that jail authorities can successfully implement a modified therapeutic community in a large jail, and that this approach to correctional administration can significantly improve the jail's psycho-social climate. An improved environment should result in a reduced incidence of violence and other behavioral problems, which in turn means that fewer resources would be needed for security. The goal of the SAID program is to prepare participants to reenter the community as drug-free members of society and, ultimately, to reduce relapse and recidivism in terms of rearrests. Data are insufficient to evaluate the success of the program in meeting these goals. Notes, figures, references