TY - JOUR
T1 - Adding positive reinforcement in justice settings
T2 - Acceptability and feasibility
AU - Rudes, Danielle S.
AU - Taxman, Faye S.
AU - Portillo, Shannon
AU - Murphy, Amy
AU - Rhodes, Anne
AU - Stitzer, Maxine
AU - Luongo, Peter F.
AU - Friedmann, Peter D.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse ( U01-DA016213-07-A ). The authors gratefully acknowledge the collaborative contributions of the federal staff from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, members of the JSTEPS project teams in the five federal U.S. districts, Mark Sherman from the Federal Judicial Center, members of the Administrative Office of the Courts, and the graduate student researchers within the Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence at George Mason University, who assisted with data collection for this project.
PY - 2012/4
Y1 - 2012/4
N2 - Although contingency management (CM) approaches are among the most promising methods for initiating drug abstinence (S. T. Higgins, S. M. Alessi, & R. L. Dantona, 2002; S. T. Higgins, S. H. Heil, & J. P. Lussier, 2004), adoption and implementation of CM protocols into treatment programs are both challenging and infrequent. In criminal justice agencies, where roughly 70% of clients report substance abuse issues (F. S. Taxman, K. L. Cropsey, D. W. Young, & H. Wexler, 2007), CM interventions are virtually nonexistent. The Justice Steps (JSTEPS) study uses a longitudinal, mixed-method design to examine the implementation of a CM-based protocol in five justice settings. This article presents qualitative data collected during Phase 1 of the JSTEPS project regarding the acceptability and feasibility of CM in these justice settings. The study finds a level of acceptability (find CM tolerable) and feasibility (find CM suitable) within justice agencies, but with some challenges. These challenges are reflected in the following: (a) incorporating too many desired target behaviors into CM models; (b) facing intraorganizational challenges when designing CM systems; and (c) emphasizing sanctions over rewards despite the evidence-base for positive reinforcers. These findings have implications for advancing the dissemination, adoption, and implementation of evidence-based treatments (and CM in particular) in criminal justice settings.
AB - Although contingency management (CM) approaches are among the most promising methods for initiating drug abstinence (S. T. Higgins, S. M. Alessi, & R. L. Dantona, 2002; S. T. Higgins, S. H. Heil, & J. P. Lussier, 2004), adoption and implementation of CM protocols into treatment programs are both challenging and infrequent. In criminal justice agencies, where roughly 70% of clients report substance abuse issues (F. S. Taxman, K. L. Cropsey, D. W. Young, & H. Wexler, 2007), CM interventions are virtually nonexistent. The Justice Steps (JSTEPS) study uses a longitudinal, mixed-method design to examine the implementation of a CM-based protocol in five justice settings. This article presents qualitative data collected during Phase 1 of the JSTEPS project regarding the acceptability and feasibility of CM in these justice settings. The study finds a level of acceptability (find CM tolerable) and feasibility (find CM suitable) within justice agencies, but with some challenges. These challenges are reflected in the following: (a) incorporating too many desired target behaviors into CM models; (b) facing intraorganizational challenges when designing CM systems; and (c) emphasizing sanctions over rewards despite the evidence-base for positive reinforcers. These findings have implications for advancing the dissemination, adoption, and implementation of evidence-based treatments (and CM in particular) in criminal justice settings.
KW - Acceptability and feasibility
KW - Contingency management
KW - Criminal justice
KW - Drug abstinence and treatment
KW - Rewards/incentives
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84858069342&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84858069342&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jsat.2011.08.002
DO - 10.1016/j.jsat.2011.08.002
M3 - Article
C2 - 21940135
AN - SCOPUS:84858069342
SN - 0740-5472
VL - 42
SP - 260
EP - 270
JO - Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
JF - Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
IS - 3
ER -