NCJ Number
236569
Date Published
March 2011
Length
105 pages
Annotation
This report presents the findings and methodology of an evaluation of the implementation and outcomes of the Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center Therapeutic Community program for substance abusing inmates during fiscal years 2007 through 2010.
Abstract
The 600-bed minimum security facility for incarcerated adult male inmates has operated since 1995 as a prison-based drug treatment program; and it was modified and enhanced in October 2006 to include more extensive vocational training, a specialized methamphetamine treatment unit, more sophisticated prerelease planning, and mandatory postrelease aftercare. The evaluation found that the targeted population for the program is being served, since those admitted to the program have extensive criminal and substance abuse histories, along with a substantial unmet need for treatment, vocational, and educational programming. The program has been guided in its evolution so as to ensure its clinical integrity and the availability of sufficient resources for needed services. Participants have had a consistently low rate of being removed from the program for not meeting the eligibility criteria or for disciplinary reasons. During the course of the program, inmates improved their levels of psychological and social functioning and reduced their criminal thinking patterns. As a result of the successful implementation of the prison phase of the program, coupled with the postrelease aftercare component, inmates released from the facility had a 15-percent lower likelihood of being returned to prison after 2 years in the community compared to a statistically similar comparison group released from Illinois' other prisons during the same time period. The largest reductions in recidivism were evident among those who successfully completed aftercare treatment. 18 tables, 24 figures, and 32 references