An innovative, two-phased research project is proposed that is intended to bridge the gap between prison and parole systems through a cooperative agreement with the Maryland Department Of Public Safety and Correctional Services and its Divisions. This project will compare the outcomes over an 18-month period of four randomly assigned groups of male and female prisoners with a history of drug abuse. The four groups are differentiated for protocol purposes in that they will be administered specialized services during: 1) pre-release (incarceration) and aftercare (parole); 2) pre-release only; 3) aftercare only; and 4) neither pre-release nor aftercare, respectively. The long-term goal of this proposed research is to implement an intervention aimed at reducing drug abuse and crime rates and improve psychological, social, and interpersonal functioning for this population. A collateral benefit is better identification, classification, and treatment of drug-abusing offenders on the part of the Division of Correction and Division of Parole and Probation. For those inmates receiving specialized services throughout, a two-phased approach is proposed. First, specialized services offered during the last six months of the pre-release phase of incarceration as a supplement to standard correctional programming will be targeted to different types of drug abusers as identified by standardized assessment. Second, specialized services will continue during an aftercare phase involving the initial six months following release. The aftercare phase will supplement standard parole supervision to ensure continuity of care and supervision during the critical transition from prison to parole. Subjects receiving specialized care during both pre-release and aftercare are expected to have the most favorable outcomes since they will receive the benefits of continuity of care. Subjects receiving specialized care in only one phase (either pre- release or aftercare) are expected to have more favorable outcomes than those receiving only standard correctional and parole services. The proposed study breaks new ground in examining several issues central to the rehabilitation of drug-abusing offenders. These issues involve the comparative effectiveness of continuity of care across prison and parole systems using the same intervention staff. Other issues concern the relative benefits of pre-release interventions, aftercare, and standard correctional/parole programming and the relative effectiveness of specialized care for different types of drug abusers in a correctional setting.
