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NCJ 217986
Harry K. Wexler ; Bennett W. Fletcher
National Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS) Overview
Prison Journal Volume:87 Issue:1 Dated:March 2007 Pages:9 to 24

This paper provides an overview of the multisite studies within the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s (NIDA), national Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS) addressing priority issues in criminal justice and drug abuse treatment related to the drug offender. At the onset, national Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies’ (CJ-DATS’) investigators identified eight broad priority areas of research, including screening and referral, modifying treatment programs and interventions for reentering offenders, improving engagement and retention, linking services in the community, improving coordination with criminal justice reentry processes, addressing the needs of special populations, understanding the general organizational and contextual factors in treating offenders, and understanding current treatment practices for the drug-involved offender. In the studies described, the work has begun in all of these priority areas. CJ-DATS has created a research infrastructure with the goal of improving outcomes for offenders with substance use disorders and testing approaches to better integrate drug abuse treatment with public safety and public health systems. In 2002, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) launched the CJ-DATS, a major research initiative. CJ-DATS researchers and NIDA are working together with Federal, State, and local criminal justice partners to develop and test integrated approaches to the treatment of offenders with drug use disorders. Currently, there are 13 studies underway in CJ-DATS. These studies address important cross-cutting issues in criminal justice and drug treatment when dealing with drug-involved offenders. This paper highlights eight underlying issues covered in the CJ-DATS studies. Tables, references


NCJ 217987
Bennett W. Fletcher ; Wayne E. K. Lehman ; Harry K. Wexler ; Gerald Melnick
Who Participates in the Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS)?
Prison Journal Volume:87 Issue:1 Dated:March 2007 Pages:25 to 57

This study examined the characteristics of study participants involved in the Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS). Current participants in the national Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS) showed a high level of need for services. The findings indicate that the CJ-DATS participant sample had a high level of drug use and previous treatment history, high involvement in crime and arrest and incarceration history, high levels of mental and physical health problems, and involvement in HIV-risk behaviors. The sample also revealed a low rate of being married or living as married, employment and having medical insurance, and high rates of illegal activities as a major source of support, indicating low social stability and resources. It is clear that the sample has a very high need for innovative services that CJ-DATS programs are being developed to address. The national CJ-DATS research program set out to investigate both innovative and traditional approaches to improve outcomes for people in prison or community corrections facilities who have drug problems and are in need of drug treatment. The purpose of this study was to examine profiles of a sample for CJ-DATS study participants to demonstrate that the target sample for CJ-DATS projects did indeed have the level and types of problems that require innovative programs to address. Tables, note, and references


NCJ 217982
Gaylene S. Armstrong ; Marie L. Griffin
Effect of Local Life Circumstances on Victimization of Drug-Involved Women
Justice Quarterly Volume:24 Issue:1 Dated:March 2007 Pages:80 to 105

This study examined the effect of monthly changes in lifestyle on victimization for a sample of women involved in drug abuse and related criminal behavior. The study found that the women were more likely to be victimized during those months in which they were involved in an intimate relationship, were living with a partner, or were living with their children. "Victimization" was defined as physical, mental, or sexual abuse by a stranger or intimate partner, as well as any other type of criminal victimization such as assaults, thefts, etc. In months when a woman used drugs, her chances of victimization increased 10.6 percent; and in those months when a woman engaged in criminal activity, her likelihood of victimization increased by 21 percent. In the months when a woman was neither incarcerated nor residing in another type of institutionalized setting, her risk of victimization increased by 40 percent. In months when a woman lived in an apartment or house instead of in a shelter or on the street, her risk of victimization decreased by approximately 13 percent. Contrary to expectations, conventional employment did not reduce a woman's likelihood of victimization. These findings highlight the need to examine more closely the lifestyle patterns and associations related to a woman's domestic situation within a treatment and reentry context. The study involved 198 women who were in the Maricopa County women's jail (Arizona). Researchers interviewed the women between January and August 1999. All of the women had a self-identified substance abuse problem and had volunteered to participate in a community-based drug treatment program. Interviews documented the women's behavior and life circumstances during the 36 months prior to their current arrest and detention. 3 tables, 83 references, and an appended correlation matrix for level one variables