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Project Summary

CJ-DATS Publications

Newsletter Stories

TCU Criminal Justice (CJ) Forms

Highlights

Title: Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies
Principal Investigator: Kevin Knight, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator '02-'05: D. Dwayne Simpson, Ph.D.
Co-Principal Investigator: Patrick M. Flynn, Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist: George W. Joe, Ed.D.
Project Coordinator: Janis Morey, Ph.D.
Clinical Training Coordinator: Norma Bartholomew, M.A., M.Ed.
Graduate Research Assistant: Jennifer Pankow, M.S.
Funded by: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Project Period: September 2002 to August 2008

CJ-DATS Project Summary

In 2002, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) funded the “Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies” (CJ-DATS) cooperative agreement. The Institute of Behavioral Research at Texas Christian University (TCU) is one of nine National Research Centers selected to study current drug treatment practices and outcomes in correctional settings and to examine strategies for improving treatment services for drug-involved offenders. The primary mission of the project is to investigate key elements of corrections-based treatment systems in the U.S. and make recommendations for policies to enhance outcomes and improve the overall efficiency of treatment service delivery. A key objective of this landmark project is the establishment of science-based evidence for the role of corrections-based treatment in reducing drug use and crime-related costs to society.

State and federal correctional systems that currently provide the majority of drug treatment for offenders in the U.S. participate as “collaborators” in CJ-DATS. Its comprehensive research strategy serves both policymakers and taxpayers alike by providing guidelines for delivering effective and efficient drug treatment to correctional populations. Because funding for this project is scheduled to end in 2008, a recent NIDA announcement has been released to fund a second 5-year phase of CJ-DATS. It builds on the accomplishments during Phase 1 but calls for a general shift in focus with greater attention on “implementation strategies” for improving the use of evidence-based assessment and intervention resources by justice systems.

Joining Dr. Kevin Knight as leaders of the TCU Research Center team are Drs. Dwayne Simpson and Pat Flynn (as Co-PIs). State and federal correctional systems that presently serve as TCU Collaborators in CJ-DATS (Phase 1) include the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Arizona Department of Corrections, the New Mexico Corrections Department, the Illinois Department of Corrections and Illinois TASC, and the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services.

Major Focus of TCU Center Activities for CJ-DATS

CJ-DATS currently includes Research Centers at Brown University (Peter Friedmann, PI), University of California at Los Angeles (Michael Prendergast, PI), University of Connecticut (Linda Frisman, PI), University of Delaware (James Inciardi, PI), University of Kentucky (Carl Leukefeld, PI), University of Miami (Howard Liddle, PI), National Development and Research Institutes (Nancy Jainchill, PI, and Harry Wexler, PI), and TCU (Kevin Knight, PI)—as well as a Coordinating Center at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and University of Maryland (UMD) (Faye Taxman, PI) and NIDA collaborators (Bennett Fletcher).

The TCU Center participates in several project protocols and has taken the lead role in carrying out two studies. First, as part of the Performance Indicators for Corrections (PIC) study, a series of offender assessments for needs, performance, and reentry planning was designed and tested (see Simpson & Knight, 2007; guest editors of special issue for Criminal Justice & Behavior), and staff representing a dozen CJ-DATS collaborating correctional systems received training on their applications. This work is leading to the development of 1-page “optical-scan” forms for offender self-administration and on-site scoring (with immediate counselor feedback on results). Each form is specialized (e.g., for drug use history/severity, motivation for treatment, psychological functioning, social functioning, criminal thinking, HIV/AIDS risks, and treatment engagement) and can be used to assess acute needs or (via repeated administrations) to track changes over time.

Second, to meet demands for flexible, evidence-based treatment materials, the CJ-DATS Targeted Interventions for Corrections (TIC) modules were developed at TCU. These address topics such as anger management, social skills, changing thinking errors, HIV prevention, and motivation—and they can be used as stand alone modules or delivered in a series for a more wide-ranging treatment package. The user-friendly lay-out of these materials, along with their “plug and play” format, allows for less demanding staff training. Single-day training sessions at TCU have been used for preparing counselors working with the CJ-DATS Research Centers to use these materials, and a series of experimental studies is now in progress to evaluate their effectiveness.

In addition to serving as lead on the PIC and TIC studies, the TCU Center is participating in studies being lead by other CJ-DATS Research Centers. The Inmate Pre-Release Assessment (IPASS), under the leadership of the UCLA center, is designed to screen soon-to-be parolees to establish the level of care and supervision they will require after release. This study is exploring how the IPASS can be used to help prioritize the aftercare requirements of graduates of in-prison substance abuse treatment programs. The Criminal Justice Co-occurring Disorder Screening Instrument (CJ-CODSI) study, under the direction of the National Development and Research Institutes center, is designed to be a brief, self-administered screening instrument that identifies individuals with co-occurring disorders. The feasibility of using the instrument to determine rates of co-occurring disorders in the offender population is being examined. Finally, the National Criminal Justice Treatment Practices Survey, being led by VCU and UMD, is a national survey that provides estimates of the prevalence of certain treatment delivery practices within the criminal justice system.

CJ-DATS Publications

Knight, K., Garner, B. R., Simpson, D. D., Morey, J. T., & Flynn, P. M. (2006). An assessment for criminal thinking. Crime and Delinquency, 52(1), 159-177. [Abstract]

Knight, K., & Simpson, D. D. (2006, Winter). Treatment versus incarceration for substance-abusing offenders. Cenikor News, 1(1), 2. [Abstract]

Sacks, S., Melnick, G., Coen, C., Banks, S., Friedmann, P. D., Grella, C., & Knight, K. (2007). CJDATS Co-Occurring Disorders Screening Instrument for Mental Disorders (CODSI-MD): A pilot study. The Prison Journal, 87(1), 86-110.

Special Issue of Criminal Justice and Behavior (2007)

Simpson, D. D., & Knight, K. (Guest Eds.). (2007). Offender needs and functioning assessments (Special Issue). Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34(9).
Abstract: A major objective of CJ-DATS includes the study of how treatment effectiveness is achieved with regard to therapeutic, organizational, and managerial processes. To this end, the CJ-DATS “Performance Indicators for Corrections (PIC)” multi-center protocol centered on studies of client performance indicators, focusing on the evaluation of the TCU Criminal Justice Client Evaluation of Self and Treatment (CJ CEST) and the NDRI Client Assessment Inventory (CAI) in diverse correctional settings. This special issue describes these studies, representing one of the first of several sets of studies being prepared as part of CJ-DATS.

See also:

Comprehensive List for Criminal Justice Evaluation Studies

CJ-DATS Newsletter Stories

Research Reports from IBR Fall 2008 Spring issue (PDF: 181KB / 4 pages) highlights the new TCU ADC Forms (automated data capture) available in the Forms Section.
Research Reports from IBR Spring-Summer 2006 issue (PDF: 202KB / 4 pages)
Looking across populations (link to Newsletters, Research Roundup Fall 2005; also in PDF, 131 KB/ page 3)
NIDA launches CJ-DATS (link to Newsletters, Research Roundup Fall 2002; also in PDF, 233 KB)
Research Summary: Focus on Using the TCU Drug Screen (December 2002, PDF, 451 KB / 4 pages)
Research Summary: Focus on Correctional Treatment (December 2002, PDF, 248 KB / 4 pages)