A Program Evaluation on a Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT)

• In Event: Community-based Interventions: Characteristics, Problems, and Recommendations

Abstract

Lerdo Detention Facility in Kern County has implemented an RSAT program with the goals of 1) provision of successful substance abuse treatment, 2) prevention of substance abuse relapse, and 3) reduction of recidivism. The program consists of both in-custody and out-of-custody modules. This study examines the effectiveness of the RSAT program as implemented by the Kern County Sheriff Office. Inmates are monitored for up to 36 months following completion of the entire program and are tracked for various measures of substance abuse relapse and recidivism (i.e. re-arrest, re-conviction, and return to custody). Comparisons are made between RSAT participants and non-RSAT participants who share similar characteristics in demographics and criminogenic characteristics. For intermediate and long-term outcomes, a variety of multivariate analyses are used to check if there are any significant differences in relapse and recidivism rates between the experimental and the control groups. Event history analysis is used to determine factors associated with relapse, recidivism, and the timing of relapse and recidivism.

Author

• Heejong Jacob Joo, California State University, Bakersfield