NCJ Number
222805
Date Published
January 2003
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This report focuses on the outcome of a meeting of 18 nationally recognized researchers and corrections practitioners who discussed the following key issues of prison-based drug treatment: screening and assessment, the state of prison drug-treatment programming, its effectiveness, and postrelease drug treatment.
Abstract
Two pervasive themes emerged from the workgroups on each of these subjects and the subsequent general session of participants. First, research on drug treatment in correctional settings is lacking in quantity and quality. There is a significant need for more research on which drug treatment programs work best, for whom, and at what cost. There is also a considerable need for research on the validity and reliability of instruments that screen for drug addiction and measure treatment effectiveness. The need for such research is evident, as an increasing number of prisoners are being released into the community, often without having their drug abuse/addiction needs identified and matched to inprison treatment, combined with integrated postrelease drug treatment in the community. The second theme to emerge from the meeting was participants' belief that much could be done in addressing the current research gaps regarding drug treatment in correctional settings and to promote science-based drug treatment in prisons. On the latter issue, participants recommended that greater attention be given to identifying core principles that underlie effective prison-based drug treatment. It will also require developing strategies for ensuring that future scientific work is implemented in correctional programming. Appended list of meeting participants