Study 1
Shaffer, Hartman, and Listwan (2009) used a quasi-experimental study design to assess the impact of the Ada County Drug Court in Boise, Idaho, on the recidivism of convicted females who have drug abuse problems. The data for this study was taken from a multisite evaluation of drug courts in Idaho. Data in this study was limited to the women residing in the county with the largest court operating in the state (Ada County). Study participants (n = 171) comprised women who were arrested for a drug-related charge between January 2002 and June 2005, reported a substance abuse problem, and were eligible for the drug court program.
The treatment group (n = 91) consisted of women accepted into the drug court program; they received drug court services that included drug treatment and court supervision. The treatment group participants were mainly white (95.1 percent), high school graduates (71.4 percent), not married (71.6 percent), identified as chemically dependent (78.0 percent), and on average 29 years old. The comparison group (n = 80) consisted of a sample of adults arrested during the same time frame who were eligible for the drug court program, but were instead placed on probation. The comparison group participants were mainly white (87.5 percent), high school graduates (57.5 percent), not married (85 percent), identified as chemically dependent (78.2), and on average 31 years old. The treatment and comparison groups were matched on indicators of risk for recidivism and severity of drug abuse. Significant differences were found between the treatment and comparison groups at intake. The treatment group comprised significantly more married individuals and high school graduates, whereas the comparison group comprised significantly more minority women. The analyses controlled for a number of demographic characteristics, including race, education, and marital status.
Recidivism was measured by new court filings, or any new charge submitted to the court by the prosecutor. Recidivism data was collected in the fall of 2006 from the Idaho Dispositional Database, a statewide database of court filing records. The average follow-up period was 2.3 years for both the treatment and comparison groups. Chi-squared tests, independent sample t-tests, and discrete time event history analysis were used to assess the data. No subgroup analyses were conducted.
Study 2
Koetzle and colleagues (2015) used a quasi-experimental study design to assess the impact of the Ada County Drug Court program on recidivism with high-risk, drug-abusing persons convicted of an offense. The data for this study was taken from a multisite evaluation of drug courts in Idaho. Data in this study was limited to high-risk people convicted of drug offenses and high-risk people on probation. Risk level was measured by the Level of Services Inventory-Revised (LSI-R), which is a risk and needs assessment. The study only included persons who scored 34 and above on the LSI-R.
The treatment group (n = 72) comprised males and females accepted into the drug court program between July 2002 and July 2005. The comparison group (n = 61) was selected through the Idaho Department of Corrections database and included a sample of males and females who were eligible for the drug court, but received probation instead. The groups were matched by recidivism risk and substance abuse severity.
The treatment group was predominantly white (95.5 percent), female (61.1 percent), not married (81.2 percent), and age 28 years on average. The comparison group was predominantly white (80.3 percent), male (62.3 percent), not married (88.5 percent), and age 29 years on average. Significant differences were found between the treatment and comparison groups at intake. The treatment group included significantly more women, whereas the comparison group comprised significantly more minorities convicted of an offense. However, the analyses controlled for a number of demographic characteristics (including gender, age, race, education, and marital status).
Recidivism was measured by court filings post-intake, or by any new charge submitted to the court by the prosecutor. Chi-squared tests and multivariate analyses were used to assess differences between the groups. No subgroup analyses were conducted.