Evaluating Alternative Aftercare Models for Ex-Offenders

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The primary aim of this project is to employ a randomized design to more closely study the role played by post-release aftercare in the outcomes of 300 criminal offenders who received in-prison substance abuse treatment. This study proposes to compare the relative effectiveness of TC aftercare to an Oxford House (OH) aftercare alternative that provides a supportive living environment without the professional treatment of TC aftercare. Bringing scientific methods to the examination of TCs and the OH community-based recovery models for addiction will help identify the active ingredients of these recovery settings. Typically, TC aftercare outcomes for prison TC graduates are compared to aftercare-as-usual, which can range across a wide variety of interventions. Few if any comparison groups have provided a residential setting that emphasizes socialization and abstinence from drugs and alcohol, a hallmark of TC aftercare settings. The proposed study will utilize ex-offenders randomly assigned to either TCs, OHs, or usual care post-release settings, and examine program effects (i.e., substance use, criminal and health outcomes), and economic factors associated with these models. Research findings from a study that contrasts these different approaches has the potential of influencing practice and informing policy.