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0 - National Criminal Justice Reference Service

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY<br />

Evaluation of Prison Based Drug Treatment in Pennsylvania: A Research Collaboration<br />

Between The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and the Center for Public Policy At<br />

Temple University<br />

Proiect Goals and Obiectives<br />

The time that drug-involved offenders are incarcerated affords a critical opportunity to<br />

break the cycle of drug abuse and recidivism by providing effective treatment. An in-prison<br />

Therapeutic Community is an intensive, long-term, highly structured, residential treatment<br />

modality for hard-core drug users convicted of a criminal offense. TC emphasizes the necessity of<br />

the inmate taking responsibility for hisher behavior before, during, and after treatment.<br />

0<br />

Several evaluations of in-prison TC have produced promising results. However, studies<br />

have been criticized for small sample sizes, faulty research designs (e.g., selection and attrition<br />

biases), and inadequate attention to interactions between inmate characteristics, treatment<br />

process, and treatment outcomes. No studies have examined prison-based TC across multiple<br />

sites nor attempted to include programmatic and contextual variations in analyses of outcome.<br />

Numerous questions remain about the true impact of prison-based TC, and the potential impacts<br />

of unmeasured variations in inmate characteristics, treatment programs, and multiple outcome<br />

measures.<br />

In this study, we examine in more detail the individual and programmatic factors associated<br />

with effective drug treatment across multiple sites. We examine relationships between inmate<br />

characteristics, treatment process, and treatment outcomes, and discuss critical issues in prison<br />

e<br />

based drug treatment programming and policies. We provide recommendations intended to assist<br />

3<br />

This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of <strong>Justice</strong>. This report has not<br />

been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s)<br />

and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of <strong>Justice</strong>.

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