A Multisite Evaluation of Prison-Based Therapeutic Community Drug Treatment

A quasi-experimental study examined multiple postrelease outcomes up to 2 years for inmates who participated in therapeutic community (TC) drug treatment programs ( n = 217) or comparison groups ( n = 491) at five state prisons. Statistical controls included level of need for treatment, current and prior criminal history, and postrelease employment. Prison TC was effective even without mandatory community aftercare, although main effects and interactions varied somewhat across different outcome measures and sites. TC significantly reduced rearrest and reincarceration rates but not drug relapse rates. Postrelease employment predicted drug relapse and reincarceration, and employment interacted with age to predict rearrest. Two sites had higher drug relapse rates than the other three. Implications for research and policy are discussed.