Axis
Criminal Justice
Problems addressed
Recidivism
Drug abuse
Drug trafficking

Effectiveness

Mixed Evidence

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Mixed Evidence

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Description

Youth/adolescent drug treatment courts are specialized courts for criminal cases involving this portion of the population, in which drug abuse by the defendant may be a relevant factor in the analysis of criminal conduct. It allows for the suspension of criminal proceedings, as the adolescent agrees to initiate and remain in drug abuse treatment, and may, in some cases, terminate criminal proceedings if the young individual demonstrates complete rehabilitation.

Country of application
  • United States
Evidence

The empirical evidence provided by several meta-analyses is either positive or mixed. According to some of these studies, the Youth Drug Treatment Court intervention generated small but statistically significant effects on recidivism prevention [1] [2].
Other meta-analyses have shown nonsignificant results for recidivism [3] [4]. Nil or nonsignificant effects were observed for subsequent drug abuse or for recidivism into drug-related offenses [3] [5]. Slight post-program improvements in recidivism were also found among juvenile drug court participants relative to adolescents assigned to adjudication proceedings in several comparison groups [2] [6].

Bibliography

[1] Drake, E., Lee, S., Aos, S., Pennucci, A., Klima, T., Miller, M., Anderson, L., Mayfield, J. y Burley, M. (2012). Chemical Dependency Treatment for Offenders: A Review of the Evidence and Benefit-Cost Findings. Full Report (Documents núm. 12-12-1201). Olympia, WA. Washington State Institute for Public Policy. https://www.wsipp.wa.gov/ReportFile/1112

[2] Stein, D. M., Homan, K. J., & DeBerard, S. (2015). The effectiveness of juvenile treatment drug courts: A meta-analytic review of literature. Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse, 24(2), 80-93. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1067828X.2013.764371

[3] Tanner-Smith, E. E., Lipsey, M. W. y Wilson, D. B. (2016). Juvenile drug court effects on recidivism and drug use: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 12(4), 477–513. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-016-9274-y

[4] Latimer, J., Morton-Bourgon, K. y Chretien, J. A. (2006). A Meta-Analytic Examination of Drug Treatment Courts: Do they Reduce Recidivism? Department of Justice, Canada. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/csj-sjc/jsp-sjp/rr06_7/rr06_7.pdf

[5] Mitchell, O., Wilson, D. B., Eggers, A. y MacKenzie, D. L. (2012). Drug Courts' Effects on Criminal Offending for Juveniles and Adults. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 8(1), 1. https://www.campbellcollaboration.org/better-evidence/drug-courts-effec…

[6] Koetzle Shaffer, D. (2006). Reconsidering Drug Court Effectiveness: A Meta-analytic Review [Doctoral Dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Reconsidering-Drug-Court-Effectiv…

Information Source

Evaluated cases

Tulsa (OK) Family Drug Court

Axis: Criminal Justice
Type: Youth Drug Treatment Court
Effectiveness:

Effective

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Effective
Problem type:
Family breakdown and/or dysfunctionality
Country:
United States
Open

Utah Juvenile Drug Courts

Axis: Criminal Justice
Type: Youth Drug Treatment Court
Effectiveness:

Promising

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Promising
Problem type:
Recidivism, Drug abuse, Alcohol abuse
Country:
United States
Open

Juvenile Drug Courts With Contingency Management and Multisystemic Therapy

Axis: Criminal Justice
Type: Youth Drug Treatment Court
Effectiveness:

Promising

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Promising
Problem type:
Recidivism
Country:
United States
Open

Maine Juvenile Drug Treatment Courts

Axis: Criminal Justice
Type: Youth Drug Treatment Court
Effectiveness:

Promising

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Promising
Problem type:
Recidivism, Drug abuse
Country:
United States
Open

Juvenile Breaking the Cycle (JBTC) Program (Lane County, OR)

Axis: Criminal Justice
Type: Youth Drug Treatment Court
Effectiveness:

Effective

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Effective
Problem type:
Drug abuse
Country:
United States
Open

Why might the cases evaluated have different levels of effectiveness in relation to their respective type of solution?
Click here to understand why.

Some cases were not included in the evidence bank due to deficiencies detected in the methodology of their impact evaluations.
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