Updated October 21, 2014.
Public opinion on ways to deal with drug abusing criminal offenders appears to be shifting from just delivering punishment to also providing job training and substance abuse treatment as a part of the prison release process. The shift in public opinion is also reinforced by a growing number of studies that are documenting the benefits of providing some form of employment training and substance abuse treatment to drug offenders.
A recent study by Kathryn E. McCollister, Ph.D., of the University of Miami's Health Services Research Center, shows that within criminal justice settings, treatment for substance abuse may not only reduce reincarceration rates, but it may also be cost-effective.
That conclusion, published in the December 2003 issue of the Journal of Quantitative Criminology, was based on McCollister's study of a work release program and an aftercare treatment program offered in Delaware. Previous work by McCollister and her colleagues on prison based treatment and aftercare in California also came to similar conclusions.
"These two studies should encourage correctional facilities to examine the potential of in-prison, work release, and aftercare substance abuse treatment as a cost-effective way of reducing reincarceration rates among drug abusing criminal offenders," McCollister said.
"The Delaware study shows that offenders receiving substance abuse treatment in a work release setting spend 49 fewer days in reincarceration, compared to those who only receive standard work release," according to McCollister.
Reincarceration is a persistent problem among drug offenders, mainly due to parole violations for repeated drug-related activity.
"Based on the total cost of providing job training and substance abuse care, it costs the State of Delaware about $65 to avoid one day of reincarceration per offender. On the other hand, the daily cost of incarceration in Delaware is about $57. Those numbers may suggest that it is cheaper to spend $57 per day on reincarcerating a drug offender than to spend $65 to avoid a day of reincarceration by providing substance abuse treatment.
"But that does not take into account any of the other economic benefits, such as employment, reduced dependence on social welfare programs, costs of health consequences of drug use, and reduced cost of repeat offenses in criminal justice expenses associated with reincarceration," McCollister said.
The University of Miami researcher said other studies have shown that in-prison treatment also results in fewer inmate infractions, reduced inmate drug use, and reduced absenteeism among correctional staff.
The California study, conducted at the RJ Donovan prison near San Diego, showed that it costs $4,112 to send an offender to substance abuse treatment, which can lead to 51 fewer days reincarcerated (36 pecent) than the no-prison-treatment group.
"This translates to a cost per avoided incarceration day of $80. Compared to offenders that received treatment in prison only, offenders that also attended an aftercare program after leaving the in-prison program had 84 fewer days reincarcerated (71 percent) and the cost per avoided incarceration day dropped to $65. The daily cost of incarceration in California is $59.
The sample for the Delaware cost-effectiveness analysis included 836 criminal offenders who were tracked for 18 months following their release. The work release therapeutic community (TC) program is called CREST and includes an aftercare component for graduates of the CREST work release program.
The sample for the analysis included 578 participants in CREST and 249 participants in the standard work release program. Within the CREST sample, 387 attended only the CREST work release component and 209 graduated from CREST and continued treatment in the aftercare program.
The California study at the Amity prison was published in the journal Law and Policy in January 2003. The in-prison treatment was provided to 335 inmates, of which 110 went to the after-care treatment program.
Michael T. French, Ph.D., of the University of Miami, Department of Sociology, also worked with McCollister on the two studies. James A. Inciardi, Ph.D., of the University of Delaware's Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies was a co-author on the Delaware study.
Public opinion on ways to deal with drug abusing criminal offenders appears to be shifting from just delivering punishment to also providing job training and substance abuse treatment as a part of the prison release process. The shift in public opinion is also reinforced by a growing number of studies that are documenting the benefits of providing some form of employment training and substance abuse treatment to drug offenders.
A recent study by Kathryn E. McCollister, Ph.D., of the University of Miami's Health Services Research Center, shows that within criminal justice settings, treatment for substance abuse may not only reduce reincarceration rates, but it may also be cost-effective.
That conclusion, published in the December 2003 issue of the Journal of Quantitative Criminology, was based on McCollister's study of a work release program and an aftercare treatment program offered in Delaware. Previous work by McCollister and her colleagues on prison based treatment and aftercare in California also came to similar conclusions.
"These two studies should encourage correctional facilities to examine the potential of in-prison, work release, and aftercare substance abuse treatment as a cost-effective way of reducing reincarceration rates among drug abusing criminal offenders," McCollister said.
"The Delaware study shows that offenders receiving substance abuse treatment in a work release setting spend 49 fewer days in reincarceration, compared to those who only receive standard work release," according to McCollister.
Reincarceration is a persistent problem among drug offenders, mainly due to parole violations for repeated drug-related activity.
"Based on the total cost of providing job training and substance abuse care, it costs the State of Delaware about $65 to avoid one day of reincarceration per offender. On the other hand, the daily cost of incarceration in Delaware is about $57. Those numbers may suggest that it is cheaper to spend $57 per day on reincarcerating a drug offender than to spend $65 to avoid a day of reincarceration by providing substance abuse treatment.
"But that does not take into account any of the other economic benefits, such as employment, reduced dependence on social welfare programs, costs of health consequences of drug use, and reduced cost of repeat offenses in criminal justice expenses associated with reincarceration," McCollister said.
The University of Miami researcher said other studies have shown that in-prison treatment also results in fewer inmate infractions, reduced inmate drug use, and reduced absenteeism among correctional staff.
The California study, conducted at the RJ Donovan prison near San Diego, showed that it costs $4,112 to send an offender to substance abuse treatment, which can lead to 51 fewer days reincarcerated (36 pecent) than the no-prison-treatment group.
"This translates to a cost per avoided incarceration day of $80. Compared to offenders that received treatment in prison only, offenders that also attended an aftercare program after leaving the in-prison program had 84 fewer days reincarcerated (71 percent) and the cost per avoided incarceration day dropped to $65. The daily cost of incarceration in California is $59.
The sample for the Delaware cost-effectiveness analysis included 836 criminal offenders who were tracked for 18 months following their release. The work release therapeutic community (TC) program is called CREST and includes an aftercare component for graduates of the CREST work release program.
The sample for the analysis included 578 participants in CREST and 249 participants in the standard work release program. Within the CREST sample, 387 attended only the CREST work release component and 209 graduated from CREST and continued treatment in the aftercare program.
The California study at the Amity prison was published in the journal Law and Policy in January 2003. The in-prison treatment was provided to 335 inmates, of which 110 went to the after-care treatment program.
Michael T. French, Ph.D., of the University of Miami, Department of Sociology, also worked with McCollister on the two studies. James A. Inciardi, Ph.D., of the University of Delaware's Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies was a co-author on the Delaware study.