Summary of Research

Several studies have been conducted to measure the effects substance abuse treatment has on offenders. Compared to untreated offenders, justice-involved clients who participated in A New Direction or a similar treatment program demonstrated:

• Reduced relapse rates
• Reduced recidivism rates
• Greater recovery meeting attendance
• Healthier thought patterns

Reduced Relapse and Recidivism

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), Division of Behavioral Health found that six months after entering a treatment program that implemented A New Direction:

• 95.7% of the successfully discharged clients (completed the entire program) were abstinent
• 97.9% had not been arrested 
• 53.2% were working full- or part-time
• 85% reported attending Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), or similar meetings
• 95.9% said they felt that the jail-based treatment program was either very beneficial or beneficial overall

Michigan's Van Buren/Cass District Health Department Substance Abuse Services compared arrest rates and found:

• The arrest rate for similar offenders receiving treatment as usual was 31.5%
• The arrest rate for A New Direction participants was 4.4%

Three- and six- month treatment programs significantly reduced recidivism. Twelve-month did not, according to the Minnesota Department of Corrections. 

Healthier thought patterns

Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) and North Carolina Division of Adult Correction Section of Alcohol and Chemical Dependency Programs (ACDP) both implemented A New Direction and administered the Criminal Thinking Scales developed by Texas Christian University, Institute of Behavior Research.

• IDPH found significant decreases in all criminal thinking scales: entitlement, justification, power orientation, cold heartedness, criminal rationalization, and personal irresponsibility, indicating improvement in criminal thinking for all scales.
• ACDP found lower scores on virtually all subscales, especially entitlement, justification of criminal behavior, criminal rationalization, and personal irresponsibility.

 Reduced Overall Spending

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), providing treatment saves between $2 and $6 for every dollar spent due to reduced criminal behavior and re-incarceration.

Michigan's Van Buren/Cass District Health Department Substance Abuse Services provided corrections treatment services using A New Direction as its treatment program in 2006 and saved $77,099 in jail costs.