National Evaluation of Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) Programs in the United States, 1995-1999 (ICPSR 2914)

Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)

Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes

Hide

Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose

The Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) for State Prisoners Formula Grant Program, created by Title III (Subtitle U of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994), was designed by Congress to implement residential substance abuse programs providing individual and group treatment for inmates in residential facilities operated by state and local correctional agencies. Under the Corrections Program Office of the Office of Justice Programs of the United States Department of Justice, state and local correctional agencies received funds to develop or enhance existing programs that: (1) lasted between six and 12 months, (2) provided residential treatment facilities set apart from the general correctional population, (3) were directed at the substance abuse problems of the inmate, (4) were intended to develop the inmate's cognitive, behavioral, social, vocational, and other skills in order to treat related problems as well as the substance abuse, and (5) continued to require urinalysis and/or other proven reliable forms of drug and alcohol testing of individuals assigned to treatment programs during and after release from residential custody. The National Development and Research Institutes, Inc. (NDRI) entered into a cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Justice wherein NDRI would evaluate the extent to which the goals of the RSAT program were being accomplished and the problems that were encountered by the participating states.

Study Design View help for Study Design

The methods of this national evaluation were: (1) an initial state survey to ascertain the RSAT programs and program directors in each of the 50 states plus five territories and the District of Columbia and to collect basic information on the aggregate impact of the RSAT-funded programs in each state or territory (Part 1, State Data), (2) a follow-up state survey to collect more detailed information on the aggregate impact of the RSAT-funded programs in each state (Part 1, State Data), and (3) an initial program survey to describe the separate RSAT programs as they came on line and to assess whether a few of the programs might serve as model programs which could undergo subsequent intensive evaluation (Part 2, Program Data). The sampling method used was a census of all the existing RSAT-funded programs and all of the state RSAT officials. Universe lists needed to be established for two different levels of units. The state level consisted of the 50 states plus five territories plus the District of Columbia. The Corrections Program Office provided the name, address, and telephone number of the state official serving as the RSAT contact person in each state. The program level consisted of the actual RSAT programs, with many states having more than one program. No clear specified universe of RSAT programs existed when the national evaluation began. Since some states did not have detailed plans for the programs and had not yet decided on program directors, there was neither a complete official list of the RSAT programs nor a list of designated program directors. Also, as the national evaluation team was carrying out its survey work, the set of RSAT programs continued to grow. The initial list of program names and contact people was created from information obtained from the initial state survey. All surveys were sent by mail and project staff followed up by fax and telephone. Three systematic attempts were made to have a survey completed and returned.

Sample View help for Sample

Not applicable.

Universe View help for Universe

All states in the United States and all residential substance abuse treatment programs in operation from 1995 to 1999.

Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation

Data Source View help for Data Source

Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)

Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables

Part 1 variables include the amount of RSAT funds received by the state in fiscal years 1996 to 1998, and amounts from other sources of funding, amount spent on salaries, training, drug tests, other supplies, and facilities, as well as number of residents, number of staff, reasons why funding was delayed, RSAT award date, and RSAT end date. Part 2 variables include the number of clients in the program, number of beds available, number of staff by gender, race, age, education, profession, and years of experience, admission inclusion criteria, reporting procedures, treatment type and duration, type of drug testing and number of tests, annual budget, sources of funding, and cost per capita.

Response Rates View help for Response Rates

For Part 1 the response rate for the initial state survey was 77 percent and the response rate for the final state survey was 82 percent. For Part 2 the response rate for the program survey was 91 percent.

Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales

Several Likert-type scales were used.

Hide

Original Release Date View help for Original Release Date

2002-10-02

Version History View help for Version History

Hide