PREDICTING GRADUATION FROM BROWARD COUNTY DEDICATED DRUG-TREATMENT COURT

This research examines outcomes among first-year participants in the d edicated drug treatment court in Broward County, Florida, Slant July 1 , 1991, through June 30, 1992. Participant data are used to predict th e likelihood of successful program graduation, This research is design ed to help understand the differences between participants who fail to graduate versus those who successfully complete the drug court treatm ent program, Independent variables are derived from interview question naires soliciting personal demographic, behavioral, and drug use histo ry information, Logistic regression analysis is used to identify signi ficant predictors. The research finds that demographic characteristics , such as race and education, as well as crack use, are the most usefu l defendant characteristics for predicting program graduation. The imp lications of these findings for public policy decision makers are disc ussed.