Treatment at the front end of the criminal justice continuum: the association between arrest and admission into specialty substance abuse treatment

BACKGROUND: To reduce criminal recidivism and drug use, it has been proposed that the substance abuse treatment delivery system cut across different components of the criminal justice continuum. Arrest, at the front end of this continuum, may represent a critical moment to motivate people with substance use disorders (SUD) to seek treatment but is often over looked as an intervention point. We used data from the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) to compare treatment need and recent treatment admission for participants with no criminal justice (CJ) involvement in the past year, past-year arrest, and CJ supervision (i.e., probation or parole status). RESULTS: Of those arrested, 44.8% met criteria for an SUD. However, only 14% of those arrested with an SUD received treatment in the year of their arrest. In multivariate modelling, arrest was an independent predictor of treatment admission (odds ratio (OR) = 8.74) similar in magnitude to meeting criteria for an SUD (OR = 8.22). Those further along the continuum – under supervision – were most likely to receive treatment (OR = 22.62). CONCLUSION: Arrest involves the largest number of individuals entering the criminal justice system. The NSDUH suggests that nearly 6 million individuals in the US experience an arrest annually and that nearly half meet criteria for an SUD. Although arrest involves the largest number of individuals entering the criminal justice system, it is also the most fleeting point as individuals can move in and out rather quickly. Minimally, arrest imposes contact between the individual and a law enforcement person and can be an opportunity for early intervention strategies such as pre-arraignment diversion into treatment or brief intervention strategies. Using brief intervention at this early point in the continuum may motivate a greater number of individuals to seek treatment or decrease drug and alcohol use. Training and procedural shifts at this point of contact could have important policy implications in reducing the number of subsequent arrests or preventing individuals moving further along the criminal justice continuum, as well as decreasing the fiscal and resource burdens associated with criminal justice processing and confinement

Probing the relative contribution of the first and second responses to sensory gating indices: A meta‐analysis

Sensory gating deficit in schizophrenia patients has been well‐documented. However, a central conceptual issue, regarding whether the gating deficit results from an abnormal initial response (S1) or difficulty in attenuating the response to the repeating stimulus (S2), raise doubts about the validity and utility of the S2/S1 ratio as a measure of sensory gating. This meta‐analysis study, therefore, sought to determine the consistency and relative magnitude of the effect of the two essential components (S1 and S2) and the ratio. The results of weighted random effects meta‐analysis revealed that the overall effect sizes for the S1 amplitude, S2 amplitude, and P50 S2/S1 ratio were −0.19 (small), 0.65 (medium to large), and 0.93 (large), respectively. These results confirm that the S2/S1 ratio and the repeating (S2) stimulus differ robustly between schizophrenia patients and healthy controls in contrast to the consistent but smaller effect size for the S1 amplitude. These findings are more likely to reflect defective inhibition of repeating redundant input rather than an abnormal response to novel stimuli.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87078/1/j.1469-8986.2010.01168.x.pd

Characteristics of facilities with specialized programming for drinking drivers and for other criminal justice involved clients: analysis of a national database

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Offering specialized programming at substance abuse treatment facilities can help diversify clientele and funding sources, potentially enhancing the facilities' ability to survive and/or expand. Past research has shown that facilities only offering specialized programming for driving under the influence/driving while intoxicated offenders (DUI) are predominately private-for-profit owned. As criminal justice populations, both DUI and other criminal justice offenders, comprise a large proportion of those in community-based substance abuse treatment knowing facilities' characteristics would be important for administrators and policymakers to consider when updating programming, training staff or expanding capacity to ensure efficient use of scarce resources. However, while such characteristics are known for DUI programs, they are not known for facilities offering specialized programming for other criminal justice offenders.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Analysis of the 2004 US National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Almost half the facilities (48.2%) offered either DUI or other criminal justice specialized programming. These facilities were divided between those offering DUI specialized programming (17.7%), other criminal justice specialized programming (16.6%) and both types of programming (13.9%). Certain characteristics were independently associated with offering DUI specialized programming (private ownership, rural location, for profit status) or other criminal justice specialized programming (receiving public funds, urban location, region of country).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Offering specialized programming for DUI or other criminal justice offenders was common and associated with distinct characteristics. These observed associations may reflect the positioning of the facility to increase visibility, or diversify clientele and possibly funding streams or the decision of policymakers. As the criminal justice populations show no sign of decreasing and resources are scarce, the efficient use of resources demands policymakers recognize the prevalence of these specialized programming, join forces to examine them for efficacy, and explicitly incorporate these characteristics into strategies for workforce training and plans for treatment expansion.</p

Comparing credentialing requirements of substance abuse treatment staff by funding source

Photograph of a scene at Lucille Hamons' Historic Highway Gas Station along Route 66

Variables associated with environmental scanning among clinicians at substance abuse treatment clinics

Introduction. Environmental scanning, as a component of absorptive capacity, has been shown to be associated with increased use of innovative treatment techniques at substance abuse treatment programmes. As the transfer of innovative, evidence-based treatment techniques from research to practice is gaining attention, we aimed to identify variables associated with higher levels of environmental scanning among substance abuse treatment clinicians. Method. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 162 clinicians at 15 substance abuse treatment clinics in Michigan. Measures: Environmental scanning was measured by frequency of use of the Internet, journals, seminars or conferences, and people at other treatment clinics for new substance abuse treatment information. Clinicians were asked for their perceptions of their clinic&#8217;s openness to new treatment techniques and support for acquiring new information, access to and satisfaction with information sources at work, as well as if they feel it is their job to keep up to date with current treatment research. Additional measures included whether they intended to quit their jobs and whether they were emotionally drained from work. Findings: We found positive associations between environmental scanning and perceived clinic support for acquiring new information, perceived clinic openness to new treatment techniques, access to e-mail and Internet at work, and satisfaction with resources. Turnover intention and being emotionally drained were negatively associated with environmental scanning. Conclusion. : Individual and organizational level variables were found to be associated with higher levels of environmental scanning activity. Although the causal directions of these associations are not known, the findings suggest ways to increase environmental scanning among clinicians