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Since the founding of the penitentiary, the hope has persisted that incarceration could serve reformative purposes. This intent to create a truly therapeutic prison is no longer a utopian dream. A theoretically informed and evidence-based approach for designing a correctional institution that delivers effective interventions is now available: the Correctional Program Assessment Inventory (CPAI). In this context, the current essay illuminates how the CPAI can be used to guide the development of a prison whose goals and practices advance offender rehabilitation.

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The effectiveness of juvenile drug courts is mixed, and several factors could account for these findings. The present study examines whether and why youth with co-occurring mental health problems may have worse outcomes in juvenile drug court than youth who only have issues with substance use. In a sample of youth in juvenile drug court, 328 youth with co-occurring mental and substance use disorders were compared with 336 youth with only substance use disorders. Youth with co-occurring mental health problems had significantly worse criminal justice outcomes than youth without mental health problems. These outcomes were explained, in part, by more frequent violations of the drug court requirements, and in particular, violations surrounding treatment noncompliance. Results suggest that juvenile drug courts—as they currently operate—may be unsuccessfully managing youth who present with co-occurring mental health and substance use problems. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

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