DRUG-ABUSE TREATMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF CORRECTIONAL SURVEILLANCE

Evaluating drug abuse treatment within a correctional framework presen ts unique issues and challenges. Given their respective emphases on re habilitation and incapacitation, treatment and corrections approaches to incarcerated drug abusers often differ in methods aimed at reducing deviant behavior. Although this results in problems in planning integ rative drug abuse intervention strategies, the two approaches are not always incompatible. Corrections can help identify those individuals i n need of treatment, and for some of these, treatment can lessen the n eed for incapacitation. Understandably, gaining a drug-abusing offende r's cooperation in monitoring routines and engendering trust in the co nfidentiality of treatment conducted in criminal justice systems setti ngs, while still ensuring public safety, are not easy tasks. Neverthel ess, there are decided advantages, in terms of compliance and retentio n, to the increased surveillance exercised by the criminal justice sys tem in community-based treatment efforts. rn these efforts, therapy co upled with urine monitoring appears particularly promising. Along with the presentation of descriptive and preliminary outcome information, this report provides a discussion of treatment/corrections issues with in the framework of an ongoing treatment evaluation study involving dr ug-abusing parolees in Baltimore City.