Effects of Prison-Based Drug Treatment on Recidivism: The Case of Therapeutic Communities in Illinois

• In Event: Prison Based Programming and Outcomes in Reentry

Abstract

This study evaluates whether prisons designed as therapeutic communities (TCs) have a substantive effect on recidivism for individuals who meet the criteria for a substance use disorder (SUD). In Illinois, as with many other areas in the US, bed space in TCs is low and, thus, many incarcerated with a SUD are housed in non-TC institutions with limited treatment availability. Using data from 55,000 individuals released from Illinois prisons between 2018 to 2022, we use propensity score matching techniques to identify treatment and comparison groups with similar demographic, criminal history, and substance use-related characteristics, some of whom received treatment at two different TCs and most of whom were sent to non-TC prisons. Analyses of these groups during the first 12 months post-release show that TCs do reduce several types of recidivism, although effects vary by facility and when individuals were released (e.g., during COVID-19 mitigation practices). Implications for future research and treatment program design are discussed.

Authors

• Damon M. Petrich, Loyola University Chicago

• David E. Olson, Loyola University Chicago