NCJ Number
238735
Date Published
September 2011
Length
60 pages
Annotation
This report from the Iowa Department of Human Rights, Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning, presents the results of a process and outcome evaluation the State's Dual Diagnosis Offender Program.
Abstract
This process and outcome evaluation by the Iowa Department of Human Rights of the State's dual Diagnosis Offender Program (DDOP) found that offenders who completed the program had lower recidivism rates compared to non-completers: 70.9 percent of completers had a new conviction compared to 86.2 percent of non-completers; 19.8 percent of completers had a new felony compared to 37.9 percent of non-completers; and 48.8 percent of completers returned to prison compared to 98.3 percent of non-completers. A comparison group of offenders had recidivism rates comparable to those of the program completers. When the evaluation examined relapse measures, it was found that program completers and non-completers had similar outcomes compared to the comparison group: 50 percent of completers and 41.1 percent of non-completers had a positive drug test, compared to 64.7 percent of the comparison group; and 18.6 percent of completers and 17.2 percent of non-completers had a new drug conviction, compared to 25.5 percent of the comparison group. The evaluation also found that race did not play a factor in the success of the program participants. The DDOP was designed to provide intervention and substance abuse and mental health treatment services to criminally-involved dual-diagnosis individuals to reduce their risk of recidivism and relapse. The evaluation examined outcome measures for a group of males (n=236) who were court ordered into the program between January 1, 2001, and September 30, 2007. The evaluation's findings indicate that the program has been successful at reducing recidivism and relapse rates for the targeted group of offenders. Tables, figures, appendixes, and references