Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Who graduates from drug courts? Correlates of client success

  • Published:
American Journal of Criminal Justice Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Drug courts combine punishment and treatment to provide an intermediate sanction for offenders. This paper contains an analysis of drug court case files for 196 participants in one mid-Atlantic jurisdiction. Logistic regression reveals that employment status before and during the program, race, education, and referral time are significant predictors of successful completion. Policy implications and suggestions about participant screening and program administration are offered.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Belenko, S. (2000).Drugs and drug policy in America: A documentary history. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belenko, S. (2001).Research on drug courts: A critical review, 2001 update. New York: National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belenko, S., Fagan, J. A., & Dumanovsky, D. T. (1994). The effects of legal sanctions on recidivism in special drug courts.Justice System Journal, 17, 53–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyum, D., & Kleiman, M. A. R. (1995). Alcohol and other drugs. In J. Wilson & J. Petersilia (Eds.),Crime (pp. 295–396). San Francisco, CA: ICS Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cosden, M., Peerson, S., & Orliss, M. (2000)Santa Barbara County substance abuse teatment courts: Year 2000 evaluation. Santa Barbara, CA: University of California-Santa Barbara.

    Google Scholar 

  • Drug Strategies. (1997).Cutting crime: Drug courts in action. Washington, DC: Drug Strategies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finn, P., & Newlyn, A. K. (1993).Miami’s “drug court:” A different approach. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldkamp, J. S., White, M. D., & Robinson, J. B. (2001). Do drug courts work? Getting inside the drug court black box.Journal of Drug Issues, 31, 27–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamid, A. (1998).Drugs in America: Sociology, economics, and politics. Gaithersberg, MD: Aspen Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Inciardi, J. A., McBride, D. C., & Rivers J. E. (1996).Drug control and the courts. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, J. M., & Shutt, J. E. (2001). Considering the need for empirically grounded drug court screening mechanisms.Journal of Drug Issues, 31 (Winter): 91–106.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Association of Drug Court Professionals. (1997). Defining drug courts: The key components. Washington, DC: Department of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nolan, J., Jr. (2001).Reinventing justice: The American drug court movement. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peters, R. H., Haas, A. L., & Murrin, M. R. (1999). Predictors of retention and arrest in drug courts.National Drug Court Institute Review, 2(1), pp. 33–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Payton, E. A., & Gossweiler, R. (2001).Treatment services in adult drug courts: Report on the 1999 national drug court treatment survey. Executive summary. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sechrest, D. K., & Shicor, D. (2001). Determinants of graduation from a day treatment drug court in California: A preliminary study.Journal of Drug Issues, 31, 129–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schiff, M., & Terry, W. C., III. (1997). Predicting graduation from Broward County’s dedicated drug treatment court.Justice System Journal, 19, 291–310.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shoemaker, D. J. (1999).Evaluation report for the drug treatment court program, Twenty-third judicial circuit of Virginia. Blacksburg, VA: Department of Sociology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stageberg, P., Wilson, B., & Moore, R. G. (2001). Final report on the Polk County adult drug court. Des Moines, IA: Statistical Analysis Center, Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning, Department of Human Rights.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taxman, F. (1999). Unraveling “what works” for offenders in substance abuse treatment services.National Drug Court Institute Review, 2(2), 93–132.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. General Accounting Office. (1997).Drug courts: Overview of growth, characteristics, and results. Washington, DC: United States General Accounting Office.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Virginia Department of Corrections, USA

    Randy C. Phillips

  2. School of Public Administration and Policy, University of Arizona, McClelland Hall 405, 85721, Tucson, AZ

    Roger E. Hartley

Authors
  1. Roger E. Hartley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Randy C. Phillips
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Roger E. Hartley.

Additional information

The authors would like to thank the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their very helpful comments and suggestions.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hartley, R.E., Phillips, R.C. Who graduates from drug courts? Correlates of client success. Am J Crim Just 26, 107–119 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02886860

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02886860

Keywords

Search

Navigation