NCJ Number
149020
Date Published
1993
Length
31 pages
Annotation
This report presents the methodology and findings from an evaluation of the Drug Testing Technology/Focused Offender Disposition Program (DTT/FOD), which was designed to determine whether urinalysis monitoring alone is as successful in deterring subsequent drug use as urinalysis combined with some standard treatment modality.
Abstract
The DTT/FOD programs in Birmingham and Phoenix were established in December 1988. They operated until August 1990, during which nearly 900 clients were assessed and accepted into the program at each site. Probationers with a history of recent drug use were assessed by TASC with one of two treatment instruments. Half of all clients were assessed with the Offender Profile Index. The other half were assessed with the instrument then used by TASC at the local site. Following assessment, offenders were assigned to one of two groups. Half of all offenders assessed by the local TASC instrument and half of all offenders assessed by the Offender Profile Index were assigned to the control group. Control group clients received only a program of random urinalysis monitoring, regardless of the drug intervention strategy prescribed by the assessment instrument. The other half of all clients assessed by the local instrument and by the Offender Profile Index were assigned to the treatment group. Outcome success was measured by performance on probation. Failure was defined as a petition to revoke probation filed by the probation officer or a new conviction. The evaluation relied on bivariate and multivariate analyses to measure the impact of treatment versus urinalysis and the utility of the Offender Profile Index as a needs assessment instrument for drug-using probationers. The analysis reveals that probation outcomes are unaffected by the program variables. Findings support the null hypothesis that urinalysis monitoring without treatment achieves the same results as when urinalysis monitoring is combined with treatment. 9 tables