Mixed Results for Virginia Drug Treatment Program

The program was launched in 2006. Now, the results have come in. The Step’n Out study sought to influence recently released prisoners with previous drug problems by rewarding them for good behavior. And it does seem to work, but only for marijuana – those addicted to cocaine, meth or narcotics weren’t helped.

Sponsored by the Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJDATS), the program was used in several states, including Virginia. Those being released from prison for drug offences, or who had previous addictions, were given a scale of activities they could log in to a computer record and earn points. The idea was to alter behavior by rewarding wanted activities. This is a direct contrast with normal probation practice, where only bad behavior is monitored – and then punished, perhaps with a return to prison.

Recidivism is an ongoing problem, especially for those who return to drugs after release. To help reduce it, participants were awarded points based on how important a behavior was. For example, avoiding things that would result in re-arrest where rated highly and other activities, like seeking a job or repairing relationships, were ranked lower.

Although marijuana was the drug showing the best results, this isn’t a failure. Since a majority of those released used marijuana, and because it accounts for a significant number of incarcerations (either alone or with other crimes), any reduction here is beneficial. Failures with other drugs is suspected to be a result of how those drugs work. A reward program that only kicks in on a weekly basis cannot compete with the immediate gratification someone gets with meth, cocaine or heroin. However, some ex-offenders were helped in all classes. Reduction of harm wasn’t the objective of the study, only avoiding a return to prison was considered a successful outcome.

The results can be found here for a version of the program in Rhode Island.