IMPORTANCE OF IMMEDIATE AND INTENSIVE INTERVENTION IN A COURT-ORDERED DRUG REHABILITATION PROGRAM: AN EVALUATION OF THE F.I.R.S.T. DIVERSION PROJECT AFTER TWO YEARS

• NCJ Number: 144031
• Author(s): J S Tauber
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 47 pages
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Paper presented at the Public Employee's Roundtable Ceremony for the "Outstanding County-Run Public Service Program in the Nation," 1992, Washington, DC

Annotation

The FIRST (Fast, Intensive, Report, Supervision, and Treatment) Diversion Program began in California in January 1991 to divert drug offenders from the criminal justice system.

Abstract

The program attempts to work with rather than against the realities of court-ordered drug rehabilitation and incorporates a diversion component, immediate intervention, a hands-on approach, coordinated and comprehensive supervision, progressive sanctions, contingency contracts, long-term treatment and aftercare, a court environment that promotes rehabilitation, judicial involvement in a court/probation partnership, and structural accountability. The program also includes a 2-month intensive evaluation and supervision phase and a final supervision and treatment phase. Program evaluation data indicate that imposing an immediate and intensive supervision and treatment approach substantially reduces the rate of felony recidivism during the diversion period and the number of days divertees spend in custody. The program increases the number of divertees who earn successful dismissals and the rate of appearances at court hearings and probation sessions. The importance of immediate intervention for younger divertees is noted, and a cost-benefit analysis of the FIRST Program is provided. Appendixes contain additional information on drug offender diversion, forms used in the FIRST Program, and program evaluation data. Tables and figures