START Together: HIV Testing and Treatment In and After Jail, New York, 2011-2014 (ICPSR 39795)

Version Date: May 28, 2026

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Principal Investigator(s):
Stanley Sacks, National Development and Research Institutes, Inc

Series:

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR39795.v1

Version V1

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Alternate Title

START

Summary

This study is part of the Seek, Test, Treat and Retain (STTR) Collaboration Project that involved over twenty studies in the fields of HIV and drug abuse. All studies were independently developed, but were chosen for the collaboration because they focused on one or more steps of the HIV treatment cascade: Seek, Test, Treat and Retain. As part of STTR Collaboration Project, the studies were grouped into Criminal Justice-related studies and Vulnerable Population-related studies. The data collected by these studies included twelve common domains (e.g., Demographic characteristics, Mental Health) in each of which a shared questionnaire or instrument was taken up by the studies and adapted to fit the study.

The overall aim of the START study is to increase the rate of HIV testing among recently released offender populations.

CARE-RAPID (RCT)

  • This is a pilot randomized study of a computer-assisted program, the Computer Assessment and Risk-Reduction Education--Rapid (CARE-Rapid). CARE-Rapid was used as means of educating offenders leaving jails about the risk of HIV and gaining their consent for an HIV test. The sample consisted of offenders discharged from jails within the past 90 days and entering a residential substance abuse treatment program. The study used an intent-to-treatment design with random assignment to a CARE-Rapid and a treatment-as-usual (TAU) condition. The outcome of interest was whether participants got an HIV test at admission to the treatment program. Participants were followed-up with at 3 months after baseline. CARE-RAPID was conducted at Samaritan Village Inc, a residential substance abuse treatment center, and includes individuals discharged from Riker's Island or Nassau County Jail.

Project START (Quasi-experimental study)

  • Project START is a quasi-experimental pilot study to evaluate the efficacy of Project START, a manualized intervention focusing on reducing risk for HIV. Project START consisted of two sessions in jail and four sessions during the first three months after discharge from a facility for offenders serving one year or less. The intervention was administered by Exponents, not-for-profit organization that offers a number of services, including outpatient substance abuse treatment. All Project START subjects were offered an HIV test and pre- and post-test counseling on their arrival at Exponents post-discharge from Rikers Island. Participants in Project Start were compared to the experimental arm from CARE-RAPID.

Qualitative Interviews

  • Qualitative interviews were conducted to gain a better understanding of those aspects of the offender's perceptions and circumstances that facilitate or hinder taking an HIV test. Interviews were with offenders who have been released from New York City and Nassau County Jails in the 90-days prior to entering Exponents for treatment.

Citation

Sacks, Stanley. START Together: HIV Testing and Treatment In and After Jail, New York, 2011-2014. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2026-05-28. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR39795.v1

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Funding

United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Drug Abuse (5R01DA032057, 1R01DA032098, 1R01DA032100, 1R01DA032059, 1R01DA032083, 1R01DA032106, 1R01DA032061, 1R01DA032110, 1R01DA032080, 1R01DA032082)

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Restrictions

Users are reminded that these data are to be used solely for statistical analysis and reporting of aggregated information, and not for the investigation of specific individuals or organizations.

Access to the data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement. Data are provided via ICPSR's Virtual Data Enclave (VDE). Apply for access to these data through the ICPSR VDE portal. Information and instructions are available within the data portal. For further assistance please reference the VDE Guide to learn about the application process, about using the VDE, and how to request disclosure review of VDE output.

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

2011 -- 2014

Date of Collection

2011 -- 2014

Data Collection Notes

  1. Please note that all data files have been converted to the Stata format, trimmed to include only participants enrolled in the study, and had cross-study IDs and other variables appended.

  2. This study includes baseline and longitudinal data files, study summaries, and study data documentation.

  3. This release is a Fast Track Release and is distributed as it was received from the data depositor. Users should consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.

  4. The CARE-RAPID (RCT) & Project START were collected at baseline and at 3 months, while the qualitative interviews at baseline only.

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Study Purpose

The purpose of this study is to improve the rates of HIV testing for people who have been at Rikers Island and to find out why they either agreed or refused to be tested for HIV.

Study Design

CARE-RAPID (RCT)

  • Randomized trial, treatment as usual v. intervention.

Project START

  • Quasi-experimental study of manualized intervention.

Qualitative Interviews

  • Interviews using a counseling model.

Sample

CARE-RAPID (RCT)

  • Intake Counselors at the cooperating substance abuse treatment program completed a check list containing the study eligibility criteria for each new admission. Clients that met the eligibility requirements for the study were forwarded to the Study Clinical Specialist who administered the informed consent protocol.
  • The nature of intervention was CARE-Rapid, a computer program that educates and facilitates agreeing to an HIV test.

Project START

  • Project Start subjects all came from Rikers Island and were recruited for the study when they appeared for the continuation of the Project Start treatment protocol at Exponents. The intake worker provided the admission data to the project research interviewer, who contacted the person at the facility or by phone and arranged an appointment for the person to come to Exponents for the interview. Individuals consenting to participation in the study were given a baseline interview only.
  • Project START is a manualized intervention starting during incarceration that focuses on reducing HIV risk.

Time Method

Longitudinal: Cohort / Event-based

Universe

Offenders in New York who were recently released from jail (past 90 days) and referred to post-jail substance abuse treatment program.

Unit(s) of Observation

Individual

Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection

Description of Variables

This study includes variables on criminal and legal involvement, drug use history, sexual risk behavior, and substance use. Demographic variables include ethnicity, race, gender, and income.

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Original Release Date

2026-05-28

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Notes

  • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

  • ICPSR usually offers files in multiple formats for researchers to be able to access data and documentation in formats that work well within their needs. If you have questions about the accessibility of materials distributed by ICPSR or require further assistance, please visit ICPSR’s Accessibility Center.

  • One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions. Restricted data files are not available for direct download from the website; click on the Restricted Data button to learn more.

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