ISAP Researchers' Profiles

Michael Prendergast, Ph.D.

Michael Prendergast is Director of Criminal Justice Research Group at the UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs (ISAP). He has directed various projects to study drug treatment strategies in the criminal justice system, including treatment for women offenders. He has been Principal Investigator of evaluations of treatment programs in correctional settings in California: the Forever Free Treatment Program at the California Institution for Women; the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility at Corcoran; and 15 treatment programs at other California prisons. He has also been Principal Investigator of several NIDA-funded studies: a five-year follow-up study of participants in a prison-based therapeutic community, an evaluation of the use of vouchers within a drug court treatment program, and an evaluation of the relative effectiveness of mixed-gender and women-only community treatment. He was Co-Principal Investigator of the statewide evaluation of the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (Proposition 36) and is currently Principal Investigator of the Pacific Coast Research Center of the NIDA-funded Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS). He has also conducted three meta-analyses on the effectiveness of drug abuse treatment. His research interests include treatment effectiveness, research syntheses, treatment policy, issues in coerced treatment, and treatment for drug-abusing offenders. His work has been published in American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, American Journal of Public Health, Criminal Justice and Behavior, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Journal of Drug Issues, Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, and Prison Journal.

Education and Training

• California Western University, San Diego, CA, B.A., History, 1968
• University of California, Los Angeles, M.A., History, 1969
• University of California, Los Angeles, Ph.D., History, 1978

Specialties

• Criminal justice treatment
• Treatment effectiveness research
• Meta-analysis

Contact Info

UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs
1640 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90025
mlp@ucla.edu

Selected Publications

Prendergast, M., Urada, D., & Podus, D. (2001). Meta-analysis of HIV risk-reduction interventions with drug abuse treatment programs. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Psychology, 69 (3), 389-405.

Prendergast, M., & Burdon, W. (2002). Integrated system of care for substance-abusing offenders. In C. Leukefeld, F. Tims, & D. Farabee (Eds.), Clinical and Policy Responses to Drug Offenders (pp. 111-127). New York: Springer Publishing Company.

Prendergast, M., Farabee, D., Cartier, J., & Henkin, S. (2002). Involuntary treatment within a prison setting: Impact on psychosocial change during treatment. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 29(1), 5-26.

Prendergast, M., Podus, D., Chang, E., & Urada, D. (2002). The effectiveness of drug abuse treatment: A meta-analysis of comparison group studies. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 67, 53-72.

Farabee, D., Prendergast, M., & Cartier, J. (2002). Methamphetamine use and HIV risk among substance-abusing offenders in California. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 34(3), 295-300.

McCollister, K., French, M., Prendergast, M., Wexler, H., Sacks, S., Hall, E. (2003). Is in-prison treatment enough? A cost-effectiveness analysis of prison-based treatment and aftercare services for substance-abusing offenders. Law and Policy, 25(1), 63-81.

Messina, N., Burdon, W., & Prendergast, M. (2003). Addressing the needs of women in institutional therapeutic communities. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 37(2), 89-106.

Prendergast, M., Hall, E., & Wexler, H. (2003). Multiple measures of outcome in assessing a prison-based drug treatment program.. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 37(3-4), 65-94.

Prendergast, M., Hall, E., Wexler, H., Melnick, G., & Cao, Y. (2004). Amity prison-based therapeutic community: Five-year outcomes. Prison Journal, 84(1), 36-60.

Wexler, H., Prendergast, M., & Melnick, G. (2004). Correctional drug treatment outcomes: Focus on California. [Introduction to special issue]. Prison Journal, 84(1), 3-7.

Wexler, H. K., Prendergast, M., & Melnick, G. (Eds). (2004). Special Issue: The Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS). Prison Journal, 87(1).

Hall, E., Prendergast, M. Wellisch, J., Patten, M., & Cao, Y. (2004). Treating drug-abusing women prisoners: An outcomes evaluation of the Forever Free Program. Prison Journal, 84(1), 81-105.

Burdon, W., Messina, N., & Prendergast, M. (2004). The California prison expansion initiative: Participant characteristics, recidivism, and predictors of outcome. Prison Journal, 84(1), 61-80.

Prendergast, M., & Wexler, H. (2004). Correctional substance-abuse treatment programs in California: A historical perspective. Prison Journal, 84(1), 8-35.

Prendergast, M. Campos, M., Farabee, D., Evans, W., & Martinez, J. (2004). Reducing substance use in prison: The California Department of Corrections Drug Reduction Strategy Project. Prison Journal, 84(2), 265-280.

Messina, N., Burdon, W., Hagopian, G., & Prendergast, M. (2004). One year return to custody rates among co-disordered offenders. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 22, 503-518.

McCollister, K. E., French, M. T., Prendergast, M. L., Hall, E., & Sacks, S. (2004). Long-term cost-effectiveness of addiction treatment for criminal offenders: Evaluating treatment history and reincarceration five years post-parole. Justice Quarterly, 21(3), 550-679.

Roll, J., Prendergast, M., Sorensen, K., Prakash, S., & Chudzynski, J. (2005). A comparison of voucher exchanges between criminal justice involved and noninvolved participants enrolled in voucher-based contingency management drug abuse treatment programs American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 31(3), 393-401.

Roll, J. M., Prendergast, M. L., Richardson, K., Burdon, W., & Ramirez, A. (2005). Identifying predictors of treatment outcome in a drug court program. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 31(4), 641-656.

Cartier, J., Farabee, D., & Prendergast, M. (2006). Methamphetamine use, self-reported violent crime and recidivism among substance-abusing offenders in California. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21(4), 435-445.

Messina, N., Burdon, W., Hagopian, G., & Prendergast, M. (2006). Predictors of prison-based treatment outcomes: A comparison of men and women participants. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 32(1), 7-28.

Prendergast, M., Podus, D., Finney, J., Greenwell, L., & Roll, J. (2006). Contingency management for treatment of substance use disorders: A meta-analysis. Addiction, 101, 1546-1560.

Grella, C., Greenwell, L., Prendergast, M., Farabee, D., Hall, E., Cartier, J., & Burdon, W. (2007) Organizational characteristics of community and correctional treatment providers. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 32(3), 291-300.

Prendergast, M., & Cartier, J. (2008). Improving parolees’ participation in drug treatment and other services through strengths case management. Perspectives: Journal of the American Probation and Parole Association, 32(1), 38-46.

Prendergast, M., Hall, E., Roll, J., & Warda, U. (2008). Use of vouchers to reinforce abstinence and positive behaviors among clients in a drug court treatment program. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 35, 125-136.

Prendergast, M., Huang, D., & Hser, Y.-I. (2008). Patterns of crime and drug use trajectories in relation to treatment initiation and five-year outcomes: An application of growth mixture modeling across three datasets. Evaluation Review, 32(1), 59-82.

Hall, E., Prendergast, M., Roll, J., & Umme, W. (2009). Reinforcing abstinence and treatment participation among offenders in a drug diversion program: Are vouchers effective? Criminal Justice and Behavior, 36(9), 935-953.

Prendergast, M. (2009). Interventions to encourage successful re-entry among drug-abusing parolees. Addiction Science and Clinical Practice, 5(1), 4-13.

Prendergast, M., Greenwell, L., Farabee, D., & Hser, Y.-I. (2009). Influence of perceived coercion and motivation on treatment completion and re-arrest among substance-abusing offenders. Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research, 36(2), 159-186.

Prendergast, M, Greenwell, L, Cartier, L, Sacks, J, Frisman, J, Rodis, E, & Havens, J. (2009). Adherence to scheduled sessions in a randomized field trial of case management: The CJ-DATS Transitional Case Management Study. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 5, 273-279.

Last updated - 01/28/10

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