Criminal Justice

Evaluation of California's Prop. 36

In November 2000, California voters passed Proposition 36 (also known as Prop. 36), which allows adults convicted of nonviolent, drug-related offenses who meet certain eligibility requirements to receive pro­bation with drug treatment in lieu of incarcera­tion. UCLA ISAP has been evaluating Prop. 36 since January 2001 (see http://www.uclaisap.org/Prop36/html/reports.html).

The second round of the Prop. 36 evaluation focused on identifying ways to improve the program and on high-cost offenders and the homeless mentally ill. The final report from this evaluation will be submitted to the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs when the project comes to an end Dec. 31. UCLA ISAP will then be participating in a third round of evaluation beginning in 2008. Plan­ning for this third round is underway, but the evaluation will generally continue to examine how Prop. 36 can be improved and will expand its focus on special populations.

Evaluation of Female Offender Treatment and Employment Program (FOTEP)

The goal of the FOTEP project is to enable the successful reintegration of women parolees into the community, particularly in regard to reducing criminal behavior, substance use, and welfare dependence, and to strengthen family relationships and employment skills. The FOTEP evaluation study consisted of a quasi-experimental study with a sample of FOTEP participants (n = 343) and a Comparison group of eligible, but non-participating, female parolees (n = 157). All participants initially participated in in-prison substance abuse treatment; about two thirds of the sample then transferred to community-based treatment in FOTEP, while the others were paroled to the community and referred to treatment as usual. A 12-month follow-up interview was conducted with about 90% of the study sample from 2001-2003 and outcomes were assessed regarding their drug use, criminal behavior, employment, parental status, and psychosocial functioning. Recidivism (i.e., return-to-prison) has also been analyzed for up to 48 months following parole using administrative data. Analyses have shown that longer time in FOTEP treatment (at least 150 days) reduces the likelihood of a return to prison by about half, and that individuals who complete FOTEP treatment are significantly less likely to return to prison as compared with individuals in the Comparison group. Ongoing analyses are using administrative data and data collected from participants to evaluate the outcomes of FOTEP participation.

 

Evaluation of the Liberating Our Families from Drugs and Incarceration Program

ISAP is conducting the evaluation of the SAMHSA-funded program “Liberating our Families from Drugs and Incarceration (LOFFDI),” which is part of the Pregnant and Parenting Women’s Treatment Initiative at the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. The LOFFDI program is provided at the Walden House program in El Monte, CA, and it aims to assist women parolees as they reintegrate into the community and reunify with children and other family members. 
The program’s objectives are to improve the mental and physical health status and employability of participants, as well as the overall psychosocial functioning of participants and their families, and thereby reduce the risk of relapse to substance abuse and criminal behavior. The program provides intensive case management services within the context of residential substance abuse treatment, which includes family counseling, parenting skills training, vocational services, mental health services, and trauma-related services. 
The site-specific evaluation was designed to collect data on the relevant background characteristics of this sample and their level of functioning in the outcome domains that are targeted by the intervention. In addition, the evaluation will be conducting site visit observations of project implementation and focus groups with project participants.

Follow-up interviews with participants will assess their satisfaction with the services received in LOFFDI, in addition to changes in the relevant outcome domains (i.e., substance use, physical and mental health status, employment status, family functioning, criminal behavior, pregnancy and child-related outcomes).

Evaluation of the Mental Health Services Continuum Program

To enhance the California Department of Corrections’ ability to identify and treat mentally ill parolees, the Mental Health Services Continuum Program (MHSCP) was developed by the Parole and Community Services Division (P&CSD) in July of 2000. The purpose of the MHSCP is to enhance the quality and timeliness of mental health services provided to mentally ill parolees after release, with the overarching goal of reducing recidivism and improving public safety. The current project is a 4-year evaluation of the MHSCP initiative for the period of July 1, 2002, through June 30, 2006. The purpose of the evaluation is to answer the following: (1) How well were the in-prison and community-based components planned, developed, and implemented? (2) What problems were encountered and how were they addressed? and (3) What impact does the MHSCP program have on recidivism of mentally ill parolees?

Swiftness and Certainty in Enforcing Probation Conditions:  Hawaii's H.O.P.E. Program

While most experts agree that the probation system should be reformed, policy makers will need some real world evidence of the effectiveness of different approaches to probation before they act. Hawaii offers an opportunity to test whether a more strategic approach to probation and parole can lead to better outcomes. The goal of this project is to evaluate Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE) program. HOPE involves regular random drug testing with swift and certain but modest sanctions for every dirty UA or probation violation. The design and implementation of HOPE focuses on personal responsibility and accountability and includes a timely mechanism (sanctions are imposed immediately) and modest sanctions (typically two days in jail, but terms increase for continued non-compliance) for dealing with probation violations. If HOPE is as successful at scale as it was in the original pilot–with reductions of more than 80% in rates of noncompliance and large reductions in recidivism and therefore public-sector costs–it represents a potential revolution in corrections and in drug policy. This project entails an outcome evaluation, process evaluation, and cost analysis of the HOPE project as implemented in the Special Probation Unit for high-risk drug-involved probationers (primarily methamphetamine users) in Honolulu.