Baltimore City (MD) Drug Treatment Court
Problems addressed
Recidivism
Effectiveness

Effective

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Effective

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Life periods served
Adults (18 to 59 years)
Where the program was applied
Courts of justice
Prisons or socio-educational residential centers
Residential - Mental health or therapeutic community services
Country of application
United States
Description

This is a program to monitor adults with substance use problems and those accused of non-violent crimes.
Offenders are referred to the Drug Court evaluation unit, where they are checked for suitability for the program, motivation and need for treatment.
The components of the program involve:
1) Intensive supervision;
2) Testing for drug abuse;
3) Treatment for drug addiction; and
4) Judicial monitoring.
To complete the program, participants must have attended the activities for at least 12 months; be employed; have completed 20 hours of community service; and have at least nine months of abstinence, as measured by urine tests.

Impact evaluations

Impact evaluation studies show that, compared to the control group, which did not receive the intervention, program participants had a statistically significant lower number of criminal recidivism after the 24-month and the 15-year follow-up periods, but not after 36 months. Participants also had a statistically significant lower number of total charges after the 15-year follow-up period [1] [2]. Both studies used an experimental design [1] [2].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Gottfredson, D. C., Najaka, S. S., & Kearley, B. (2003). Effectiveness of drug treatment courts: Evidence from a randomized trial. Criminology & Public Policy, 2(2), 171-196. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9133.2003.tb00117.x

[2] Gottfredson, D. C., Kearley, B. W., Najaka, S. S., & Rocha, C. M. (2005). The Baltimore City drug treatment court: 3-year self-report outcome study. Evaluation Review, 29(1), 42-64. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193841X04269908

Information source