Options for Recovery: Promoting Success among Women Mandated to Treatment

Abstract

In recent years imprisonment has been used increasingly for a wide range of nonviolent and petty offenses committed by women. Among incarcerated women, particularly those who are pregnant or parenting, substance use and its deleterious consequences are often exacerbated by imprisonment. Women who have been identified as chemically dependent are also at high risk for losing custody of their children. In California, the Options for Recovery (OFR) treatment program provided an alternative to incarceration or relinquishment of custody of children for chemically dependent pregnant and parenting women. This three-year pilot project offered alcohol and other drug abuse treatment and case management to these women, and included special training and recruitment of foster parents for their children. Findings from a three-year, multimethod evaluation study showed that women who were mandated to OFR treatment programs were more likely to successfully complete treatment than women who had enrolled in OFR voluntarily. An economic analysis of the costs associated with women in OFR compared with the combined costs of incarceration and alcohol and other drug abuse treatment produced a ratio in favor of OFR. Additionally, some innovative service alternatives for women mandated to treatment were developed during the project. The impact of such changes have implications for improving women's and family health.

Coerced Treatment for Methamphetamine Abuse: Differential Patient Characteristics and Outcomes

“…The scarce research results that have been reported suggest high levels (48% within 6 months) of noncompliance with court-ordered substance abuse or mental health treatment among randomly selected child neglect cases in a large urban southeastern U.S. county (10). Yet rates of treatment completion were higher for mandated than for voluntary admissions in a California program for women offered treatment as an alternative to incarceration or loss of custody (43). The present study is able to extend this research to outcomes of CPS-pressured treatment for MA users.…”

The Use of Legal Coercion in the Treatment of Substance Abusers: An Overview and Critical Analysis of Thirty Years of Research

“…There has been much debate and speculation about the merits and limitations of coerced treatment for substance user offenders. Numerous studies have concluded that legal pressure represents a strong and effective external motivator in terms of treatment entry, retention, and outcomes (Berkowitz et al, 1996;Collins and Allison, 1983;Peters, Haas, and Hunt, 2001;Pompi and Resnick, 1987;Watson et al, 1988). However, an increasing number of researchers have started to question the value of coercion after examining the research base.…”

A process evaluation of the CREDIT (court referral and evaluation for drug intervention and treatment) pilot programme

“…This may occur either as a consequence of diverting the offender for the current offence or by reducing the likelihood of future offending. Evidence suggests that negative outcomes experienced as a result of drug use do not decrease in prison, but rather are exacerbated [7,8]. Neither is imprisonment associated with any major downturn in the level of criminal activity upon release [3,5].…”