Substance Abuse Treatment Programs in Corrections: An Integrated Approach

Nearly 70 percent of the offender population has a problem with substance abuse. Treatment is an important component for those individuals who struggle with substance abuse, not only to help with their addiction but also to decrease future recidivism. Despite the promising nature of research on drug abuse treatment, many offenders are not able to obtain the appropriate treatment services. In addition to the concern over lack of relevant services, there are also barriers to implementing effective treatment programs that serve the needs of the offender population. Integrated services between correctional and public health treatment agencies are recommended to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the justice system while positively impacting offenders to achieve a break from the cycle of incarceration.;This study examined factors that predict integration of services among a survey of correctional administrators. Competing values theory was the framework for this analysis due to the varying decisions criminal justice administrators face about the type of correctional programs to offer and how to integrate services with other organizations or agencies, including substance abuse treatment. A tension exists between punishing offenders and providing offenders with treatment programs, depending on administrators' views regarding the goal of corrections. Regression models tested the hypotheses about factors that affect integrated services. Organizational factors, personal characteristics of administrators, and structural factors were used to examine the degree to which services are integrated, and were found to be statistically significant. In a series of separate models examining the impact of each independent variable on integration, there were statistically significant findings for organizational culture and beliefs about crime and punishment on level of integration of services. In the multivariate models, organizational factors, personal characteristics of criminal justice administrators, and structural factors combined to result in the greatest percentage of explanation of integration of services. Despite significant findings in both the individual and nested models, the independent variables predicted small percentages of the dependent variable (1.1 percent for organizational culture, 1.3 percent for rehabilitative beliefs, 1.7 percent for traditional sanctions, and 16.9 percent when combining all three sets of independent variables), indicating that there are many other factors impacting service integration not tested in the current study. The research has policy implications due to the recent passage of the Affordable Care Act and the subsequent move towards a health care system that provides coverage for offenders released from prison and those under community corrections. Having access to health care may help offenders obtain needed substance abuse treatment services. From a theoretical perspective, the study contributes to the literature in the field by using competing values theory at the level of the individual worker (criminal justice administrator). Future research should examine other factors impacting integration, such as resource availability, facility location, and barriers to treatment within the organization.