Evaluating A Drug Testing and Graduated Sanctions Program in Delaware

NCT ID: NCT01187121

Last Updated: 2010-08-23

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: UNKNOWN
• Total Enrollment: 800 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2010-06-30

Brief Summary

The objective of this three year project funded by the National Institute of Justice is to conduct a program evaluation of the "Decide Your Time" program at the Hares Corner Office of the Delaware Department of Probation and Parole. The program is intended to provide an alternative to incarceration by monitoring chronic drug offenders through increased, regularly scheduled, known urinalysis testing, coupled with increasing sanctions and referral to treatment for positive tests. The program was designed and is being implemented by the Delaware Department of Probation and Parole. Offenders will become eligible for the program when they test positive for drugs at their initial probation intake at the Hare's Corner Probation Office in New Castle, Delaware or are moved from standard probation to intensive supervision due to failed urine tests. Due to budgetary constraints, the office lacks sufficient resources to place all eligible offenders into the program. The Department of Probation thus intends to randomly assign eligible offenders to either intensive supervision probation (ISP)(n=400) or the Decide Your Time program(n=400). Those in ISP will receive the normal intensive supervision requirements, including weekly visits and random urinalysis. Those in the enhanced condition will receive regularly scheduled urinalysis coupled with referral to treatment, if required, and a program of graduated sanctions. The Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies is conducting an evaluation of the program that involves examining data on effectiveness, and collecting and examining data on program implementation, and probation officer and client perspectives of how the program worked. It is hypothesized that those randomized to the Decide Your Time program will have fewer arrests, violations and positive urine screens upon program completion than those randomized to the control condition.

Conditions

Probationary Failure; Recidivism; Drug Relapse

Study Design

• Observational Model Type: COHORT
• Study Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE

Study Groups

Experimental

Those persons randomized to the Decide Your Time program.

No interventions assigned to this group

Standard Pracitice

Those persons randomized to the standard probationary practice condition.

No interventions assigned to this group

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• sentenced to intensive supervision and fails a urine drug screen at the HAres Corner Probation office in Delaware

Exclusion Criteria

• Clinical Diagnosis of DSM-IV Mental Illness
• Judge ordered Zero Tolerance program
• Sex Offender
• Less than sixty days on probation

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Delaware Department of Probation & Parole

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University of Delaware

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

University of Delaware

Principal Investigators

Daniel J O'Connell, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Delaware

Locations

New Castle Day Reporting Center at Hares Corner, 26 Parkway Circle

New Castle, Delaware, United States

Countries

United States

Related Links

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/topics/corrections/community/drug-offenders/decide-your-time.htm

Related Info

Other Identifiers

139855

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id