Earlier research established the positive effects of prison treatment and the capacity of aftercare to maintain those effects. Research may now focus on 1) clarifying the elements of effective prison treatment and 2) further refining strategies for integrating aftercare with institutional services. The proposed NDRI Colorado Research Center presents a research infrastructure, program capacity, and research concepts for CJ-DATS. The Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC), the Center's proposed site has had a working alliance with the proposed investigators for the past 15 years. A mid-size prison system representative of a substantial proportion of all state systems, the CDOC includes an extensive substance abuse treatment system and is constructing an integrated system of care available for participation in multi-site studies. An NDRI Colorado field office associated with two NIDA-funded research projects operates in Denver. Of relevance to CJ-DATS, The PI and Co-PI have conducted major studies on the effectiveness of therapeutic communities (TCs) and modified TCs for offenders, and for individuals with co-occurring disorders. The PI employed the research findings from his Stay n Out study to assist 20 states in developing prison TCs. The research team has worked in conjunction with research and clinical colleagues in eight multi-site cooperative agreements from which were produced both jointly developed articles and a special issue journal. Three research concepts are proposed. First, in response to the CJ-DATS concern with improving treatment delivery and effectiveness, is a study of the relationship between essential elements of institutional treatment and levels of positive outcomes. Second, in response to the CJ-DATS emphasis on an integrated systems approach, is a study of aftercare for offenders with co-occurring disorders, comparing two community-based treatment models Modified TC treatment and Assertive Community Treatment--to standard case management. Third, also addressing integrated systems is a study of a pre-release, self-management strategy to facilitate the transition between in-prison and community settings addressing issue specific to the woman offender.
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