A co-occurring disorders intervention for drug treatment court: 12-month pilot study outcomes

Abstract

Purpose Many individuals in drug treatment courts (DTCs) have co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders (COD), which can negatively impact treatment engagement, behavioral health and criminal justice outcomes. This paper aims to report results of DTC participants with a COD, who received a 12-month wraparound treatment intervention called MISSION-Criminal Justice (MISSION-CJ) alongside DTC to improve treatment engagement and behavioral health outcomes and reduce reincarcerations. Design/methodology/approach In this pre-post, single-group pilot, 48 clients enrolled and 81% completed 12-month follow-up assessments (N = 39) and weekly MISSION-CJ fidelity for type and intensity of services delivered. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) were computed with a fixed term for fidelity (e.g. high or low MISSION-CJ), time and a fidelity x time interaction term. Findings Among participants, at 12 months, 81% of the participants remained engaged in treatment at study completion, and 89% had high MISSON-CJ fidelity. Clients demonstrated significant reductions from baseline to 12 months in average nights in jail (B = −0.1849511, p < 0.0344), mental health symptoms via the Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale (BASIS) total and subscale scores (B = −0.121613, p < 0.0186) and trauma symptoms on the PTSD Checklist-5 (PCL-5) (B = −0.928791, p < 0.0138). High MISSION-CJ fidelity further improved criminal justice, and behavioral health outcomes. Originality/value This was the first reported 12-month MISSION-CJ trial. While feasible to implement, given the design limitations, future research should include a large randomized controlled trial.

Reentry Service Engagement Among a Reentry Population with Co-occurring Mental Health and Opioid Use Disorders in Massachusetts Jails

“…Multicomponent interventions have combined integrated dual disorders treatment along with assertive community outreach [35][36][37][38]. Maintaining Independence and Sobriety through Systems Integration, Outreach and Networking-Criminal Justice (MISSION-CJ) [39][40][41] Although both interventions intend to bridge the gap between release from jail and community reintegration, we hypothesize that the multicomponent wraparound intervention will yield higher rates of program engagement because this approach is inherently a more comprehensive approach that can address the multitude of disparate needs for people with COD [47].…”