NCJ Number
228057
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 37 Issue: 4 Dated: July/August 2009 Pages: 388-395
Date Published
August 2009
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study estimated the impact of an in-prison, therapeutic community (TC) substance abuse treatment program on management costs in a California prison.
Abstract
The study found that TC facilities in general had fewer infractions, grievances, and major incidents than non-TC facilities that housed similar inmates. Although TC participants had fewer disciplinary problems overall, they had greater proportions of serious infractions than the comparison non-TC sample. One possible explanation for this finding is that minor infractions in the TC facilities were addressed in group processes as part of the treatment activities. Consequently, infractions worth recording were most likely the serious ones. Another explanation is that the TC's emphasis on proper conduct and increased expectations by treatment staff might have magnified the importance of any behavioral problems. It cost approximately $4 million annually to operate the two prison-based TC programs. The savings amounted to $263,175. Despite the small financial benefits of the TC programs, the study suggests that treatment activities of the TC environment may help to reduce or control prison management costs. Two types of costs were considered in the study: administrative costs associated with inmate or nontreatment staff activities and the cost of providing TC substance abuse treatment. The analysis of prison management costs focused on the institutional costs of disruptive inmate behavior. Data collection spanned 2003 and 2004. 8 tables, 9 notes, and 44 references