NCJ Number
158848
Date Published
1995
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This report evaluates the postrelease status of participants in the Dixon Springs Impact Incarceration Substance Abuse Program (IIP), and the Gateway Substance Abuse Program at the Dwight Correctional Center.
Abstract
The major aim of the two evaluations was to determine if program participants differed when compared to a traditional prison comparison group in their rates of return to prison. Another goal was to determine whether specific demographic or offense characteristics influenced these rates of return. Analysis of the Dixon Springs IIP disclosed that: (1) In both 12- and 24-month follow-ups, IIP graduates exhibited lower rates of return to prison for new offenses than those offenders who failed to complete IIP, or a matched comparison group of general prison releasees; (2) Variables of offense type and age were indicators of increased return rates; (3) Within the IIP graduate group, those inmates who had been determined to be probable substance addicts returned to prison at a higher rate than those considered to be probable substance abusers or those who had no identified substance abuse problems; (4) Within the IIP graduate group - based on level of assessed drug abuse - original offense type, age, and committing county emerged as indicators of increased rates of return to prison. For the Gateway Program, the major findings included the following: (1) Offenders who spent less time in the program returned to prison at a higher rate than those who remained in the program for a longer period of time; (2) Age and prior incarceration were indicators of increased rates of return to prison; (3) Gateway recidivists were in the community longer prior to being returned to prison than those in the traditional comparison groups; (4) Gateway recidivists were less likely to return to prison on a drug offense than their comparison counterparts. The report includes recommendations based on the above findings. Tables, references, endnotes