Building an Effective Research Partnership Between a University and a State Correctional Agency: Assessment of Drug Treatment in Pennsylvania Prisons

The purpose of this project was to develop a collaborative research partnership between Temple University's Center for Public Policy and the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC), with a demonstration research project that included three main elements: (a) a descriptive assessment of drug and alcohol programming (through program surveys and a 1-day symposium with treatment staff members), including the identification of critical service delivery components and goals; (b) an intensive on-site process evaluation of representative programs at two institutions; and (c) the preparation of an outcome evaluation research design on the basis of analyses and discussion between Temple and the DOC. This article summarizes critical stages in the development of the partnership; reactions from Steering Committee members and drug treatment staff members; results from a survey of 118 drug treatment programs at 24 state prisons; major findings from process evaluation; and implications for drug treatment programming, policy, and evaluation.