A Multisite Evaluation of Prison-Based Drug Treatment: Four-Year Follow-up Results

This study examined three postrelease outcomes (reincarceration, rearrest, drug relapse) for inmates who participated in therapeutic community (TC) drug treatment programs (n = 555) or comparison groups (n = 998) at five prisons. The comparison group consisted of TC-eligible inmates participating in less intensive programming at the same institutions. Control variables included drug dependency, age, and criminal history. TC had a moderate, significant impact on reducing the probability of reincarceration and did so in the absence of community aftercare. Effects of TC on rearrest and drug relapse, however, were not significant. Implications for research, theory, and practice are discussed.