The Long Term Effectiveness of Drug Treatment Court on Reducing Recidivism and Predictors of Voluntary Withdrawal

An Exploratory Study Examining Differences in Drug Court Graduation Rates for Black and White Women

“…For White female DTC participants, older age and greater number of months engaged in regular employment increased the odds of graduation whereas greater number of prior felony convictions and more time spent in interactions with people engaged in criminal activity decreased the odds of graduation. These results align with previous DTC outcome studies with predominantly male samples (Brown, 2010;Dannerbeck et al, 2006;DeVall & Lanier, 2012;Gallagher et al, 2014;Gottfredson et al, 2007;Jewell et al, 2016;Shannon et al, 2015).…”

“…Certain factors have been consistently associated with DTC outcomes across innumerable studies but, except for a very few exceptions, they have not been examined specifically for Black women, underscoring the need to include them as a separate group because these studies guide what is offered in treatment. The factors associated with less likelihood of graduating (in predominantly male samples) include being younger (Dannerbeck et al, 2006;Gallagher et al, 2014;Gottfredson et al, 2007;Jewell et al, 2016;Shannon et al, 2015), lack of employment experience (Evans et al, 2009;Hickert et al, 2009;Hohman, 2000), greater extent of criminal history (Brown, 2010;Gilberson, 2013;Hickert et al, 2009;kalich & Evans, 2006;Polenberg, 2015;Shannon et al, 2015), earlier age of beginning substance use, previous unsuccessful treatment attempts, and less serious substance use disorder (De Matteo et al, 2009). Shannon et al (2018) found that women who were employed at entry were more likely to graduate.…”

Identifying Predictors of Substance Use and Recidivism Outcome Trajectories Among Drug Treatment Court Clients

“…Five DTC client sociodemographic variables of particular interest for the current study include age, race and ethnicity, gender, education, and employment: age Most studies show a positive correlation between older age and successful DTC completion among adults, with younger DTC clients more likely to drop out (gallagher, Ivory, Carlton, & Miller, 2014;Jewell, Rose, Bush, & Bartz, 2016;Shannon, Jackson, Newell, Perkins, & Neal, 2015). However, some studies (DeMatteo, Marlowe, Festinger, & Arabia, 2009;gray & Saum, 2005) did not observe a significant relationship between age and DTC success, and others (Senjo & Leip, 2001) actually found increased age hindered DTC progress (Hickert, Boyle, & Tollefson, 2009).…”

“…Relatedly, our study operationalized recidivism as rearrest, but other studies define recidivism in different ways; developing a consistent definition of recidivism remains a crucial goal for future DTC research (Brown, 2010). While our study followed DTC and CBT participants for 6 months after initiating SUD treatment, additional research is needed to determine whether employment and age reliably predict client retention and outcomes longitudinally (e.g., 1-2 years following DTC participation; Jewell et al, 2016). This is especially pertinent because the relationships between certain client characteristics (e.g., employment) and program outcomes are contradictory among cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, including the nonstatistically significant DTC client characteristics in our study (i.e., gender, education, and race).…”

Medication assisted treatment (MAT) in criminal justice settings as a double-edged sword: balancing novel addiction treatments and voluntary participation

“…A drug court program, or any other criminal justicefocused treatment program is not, in itself, inherently coercive, though they are designed to encourage treatment (Burns & Peyrot, 2003). As package of supervision and treatment paradigms, these have become some of the most effective relapse-and recidivism-reduction strategies available today (Jewell, Rose, Bush, & Bartz, 2017;Lowenkamp, Holsinger, & Latessa, 2005;Mitchell, Wilson, Eggers, & MacKenzie, 2012). Additionally, participants often see these programs as more procedurally just and fairer than the alternatives (Gottfredson, Kearley, Najaka, & Rocha, 2007).…”