Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice Center faculty, recently authored an evaluation of the Jackson County, Oregon Adult Drug Court titled, “ADC (Adult Drug Court) Recidivism: Definition by Dosage, Level and Conviction Status.” The report was prepared by Dr. Rivera as the evaluator for the Jackson County, Oregon Treatment Courts, with a focus on the impact of treatment dosage (length of time in treatment) on recidivism.
The report examined recidivism (misdemeanor and felony level charges and conviction status) for participants in the drug court after 90 days, 120 days, and 180 days (dosage), and one full year of treatment. An important finding was that a substantial amount of recidivism takes place within the first 90 days of the program, before drug treatment has had an effect on the bodies and behavior of participants. The implication is that it is important to take treatment dosage (length of time in treatment) into consideration when judging the impact of substance use treatment on behavior, such as criminal recidivism.
