Interactive Computer-Assisted Recovery Enabler (ICARE): Treatment Support Tool for Substance-Using Offenders, Final Technical Report

• NCJ Number: 310383
• Author(s): Samuel J. A. Scaggs
• Date Published: March 2025
• Length: 100 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2018-75-CX-0018
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored

Annotation

This report discusses a study evaluating the Interactive Computer-Assisted Recovery Enabler (ICARE), a treatment support tool for substance-using offenders

Abstract

This study is the first to evaluate the impact of an automated appointment notification system on behavioral health nonclinical care management adherence among individuals under community supervision. Results show that receiving notifications significantly improved intake attendance among individuals on probation but did not impact check-in attendance, successful care management termination, or likelihood of experiencing a probation violation. The report outlines methodological and analytic processes and poses key considerations and recommendations for improving care management access. Care management is facilitated as a condition of court sanctions or community supervision. Automated notifications of upcoming obligations have been widely studied. Among individuals involved in the criminal legal system, “nudges” may be of particular importance given the often-expansive nature of the various obligations and needs of those who are navigating a community supervision term. The study occurred from November 2019 to March 2024 and consisted of two phases: (1) a formative phase that included focus groups with care managers (CMs) and clients to design an automated notification tool, and (2) a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the impact of these notifications on care management intake, check-in appointments and attendance, and probation outcomes. Using a sample of 1,004 individuals referred from the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections, the study used an RCT that assigned individuals to either receive Interactive Computer-Assisted Recovery Enabler (ICARE) reminders plus reminders as usual or reminders as usual from their CM and probation officer. The enrollment period for the RCT was 9 months, starting in November 2022 and ending in July 2023. The intervention continued for an additional 8 months after the enrollment period ended, concluding in March 2024.