Sunday, September 23, 2007

More NCJRS Abstracts, Articles on Women in Corr Sent

AMONG THE LATEST RESEARCH POSTED AT http://www.ncjrs.gov/. CHECK FOR OTHER ARTICLES OF INTEREST THERE AS WELL.

NCJ 219557
Patricia A. Kassebaum
Substance Abuse Treatment for Women Offenders: Guide to Promising Practices
US Dept of Health and Human Services, SAMHSA Ctr for Substance Abuse Treatment

This report acts as a guide providing professionals working with women offenders with knowledge from nine select women’s programs for substance abuse problems. Some of the most promising practices in helping addicted women in the criminal justice system include: (1) building a treatment approach that is rooted in an understanding about how women grow and develop and how these factors affect addiction; (2) using sanctions in creative and reasonable ways that will reinforce treatment goals and engage women in treatment; (3) assessing each woman’s needs in a comprehensive, yet flexible manner; (4) providing continuity of care, from the presentencing through in-custody treatment to continuing treatment and support following release; and (5) ensuring that women receive the housing and other services that they need during the early post-release period and avoid relapse and recidivism. Intended, not to be a complete guide or handbook for setting up new programs, this report is intended to offer women-specific concepts and strategies, a planning framework, for those in the corrections and treatment fields who want to design comprehensive services for women offenders. In an effort to develop and assess programming for women offenders, the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) is funding a series of treatment programs for women in prisons and jails. Evaluation results from these projects are just beginning to emerge, with much already learned. This report shares the knowledge being gained from nine selected women’s programs, four in State prisons and five in jails or detention centers. All are serving women who have severe substance abuse problems. The programs include long- and mid-term residential therapeutic communities. The report is intended for professionals from a wide range of disciplines working with women involved in some aspect of the criminal justice system. The report is divided into four parts: setting the stage for treatment, designing treatment programs, stages of treatment planning--the action steps, and program summaries. References, resource list, and appendix

NCJ 219575
Beth M. Huebner; Regan Gustafson
Effect of Maternal Incarceration on Adult Offspring Involvement in the Criminal Justice System
Journal of Criminal Justice
Volume:35 Issue:3 Dated:May-June 2007 Pages:283 to 296

Using data from the mother-child sample of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, this study examined the long-term effect of mothers' incarceration on adult children's involvement in the criminal justice system. The findings show that the adult children of incarcerated mothers were significantly more likely to have been convicted of a crime and to have served time on probation than the adult children of mothers who were not incarcerated. One-fourth of incarcerated mothers had a child who had been involved with the criminal justice system as an adult. The direct effect of the mother's incarceration on adult children's outcomes endured even after accounting for maternal separation, maternal delinquency, and other risk factors. In contrast, mothers' imprisonment was not apparently a risk marker for poor home environments and other factors associated with the risk of imprisonment. Apparently some incarcerated mothers were effective parents whose presence in the home was beneficial to their children. The findings suggest that keeping parents in the community may reduce the negative consequences of the parents' incarceration on their children. Many have argued that because women commit predominately drug and property crimes, community sanctions merit special consideration for this population. Data were obtained from women and their children who were surveyed in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. Data on mothers were obtained from the original study sample, which was designed to be nationally representative of young men and women who were between the ages of 14 and 22 in 1978. Data were collected through in-person interviews annually from 1979 to 1994 and biannually from 1996 to 2000. In 1986, the data-collection protocol was expanded to include children born to mothers who were part of the 1979 sample. The current analysis focused on 1,697 adult offspring who were between age 18 and 24 in 2000 and their mothers (n=1,258). 5 tables, 9 notes, and 73 references

NCJ 219568
US Dept of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Admin (SAMHSA)
Lessons Learned From the Women, Co-Occurring Disorders, and Violence Study: Exploring How to Best Serve Women Survivors of Violence and Trauma Who Have Substance Abuse and Mental Health Disorders

This paper provides a brief overview of 1998 Women, Co-Occurring Disorders, and Violence Study (WCDVS), exploring ways to best serve women with trauma experiences and the lessons learned from the study. Key findings from the Women, Co-Occurring Disorders, and Violence Study (WCDVS) conducted in 1998 to address the lack of appropriate services for women with trauma histories include: (1) gender-specific services are critical in creating a healing environment; (2) the contributions of women who have experienced trauma in their lives can be an essential component of crafting effective services; (3) group environments are key to restoring trust and promoting healing; and (4) the most effective programs integrate trauma, mental health, and substance abuse services, rather than treating them separately. Millions of women suffer from co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders. Among them, a great many are also trauma survivors who have experienced violence and abuse. The WCDVS was a nationwide study of outcomes and costs associated with developing and implementing a comprehensive trauma-informed treatment program. The goal was to produce information and knowledge about an integrated services approach for women with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, who have histories of physical and/or sexual abuse. The study was a two phase study, totally 14 sites, conducted over 5 years, from 1998 to 2003. The study framework required all service interventions to be gender specific, culturally competent, trauma-informed and trauma specific, comprehensive, integrated, and involving consumer/survivor/recovering (C/S/R) women. Of the original 2,729 women enrolled in the study, 2,006 were interviewed to determine if their mental health, substance abuse and trauma symptoms had improved. Examples of intervention models, study sites and study implications are presented.

No comments: