NCJ Number
192915
Date Published
February 2001
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This bulletin reports on the health and well-being of offenders who are participating in the New South Wales (Australia) Drug Court Trial, using the SF-36 health questionnaire and the Opiate Treatment Index (OTI) social functioning scale.
Abstract
The aim of the New South Wales Drug Court is to reduce the criminal activity of drug-dependent offenders by directing them into supervised drug treatment designed to reduce their drug use and increase their ability to function as law-abiding citizens. In order to assess the health and well-being of offenders participating in the Drug Court Trial, 202 participants were interviewed at program entry, and 112 of these participants were re-interviewed after 4 months of participating in the program. The results showed that although Drug Court participants were in significantly poorer health than the general Australian population prior to commencing the program, they were significantly healthier than a group seeking methadone maintenance treatment voluntarily. There were significant improvements for Drug Court participants after 4 months on the program across all measures of health and well-being examined. At the 4-month interview, participants were scoring within the normal range or higher on the measures relating more closely to physical health, but they remained significantly impaired on several measures that related more closely to emotional well-being. The findings also indicated a high level of satisfaction with the program, with participant satisfaction being related to health and well-being at the 4-month mark. 5 tables, 6 figures, and 26 references