NCJ Number
217990
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 87 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2007 Pages: 111-142
Date Published
March 2007
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This article describes how the Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS) Targeted Intervention for drug-involved offenders was developed, the content of the intervention material, and the research design for the evaluation of all three protocols.
Abstract
After initial field testing in the Delaware correctional system, the prevention protocols and research design of the Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS) Target Intervention are being implemented, first in Delaware and then in Kentucky and Virginia. At all the sites, special attention is being paid to two major issues: (1) the culture of the target populations and (2) the potential for integrating the initiative into the existing criminal justice process. The importance of understanding the culture of the target population and incorporating it into an HIV and hepatitis intervention cannot be overstated. Estimates of HIV and hepatitis rates in correctional populations are 8 to 10 times higher than in the general population, the result of risky drug-using and sexual behaviors prior to incarceration. Many offenders resume these risky behaviors after release from the institution. In addressing this issue, a peer-facilitated, multimedia HIV and hepatitis protocol (intervention) was developed. This protocol was developed to address risk reduction and barriers of concern to correctional populations. Figures, tables, and references