Mobile Support to Improve Recovery and Treatment Court Outcomes

PROJECT SUMMARY ABSTRACTDrug Treatment CourtsDTCsare a rapidly evolving alternative to incarceration for non violent drug offenders in the U SPresently there are moreDrug Treatment Courts operating nationwideThese courts take a collaborativenon adversarialteam approach uniting the judgeprosecution and defense attorneys with substance abuse treatment professionals to facilitate effective drug treatment and related servicese geducationemployment trainingto eligible offenders who would otherwise be sentenced to jail or prisonNearly three quarters of persons assigned to treatment in the general criminal justice system never enter treatment or leave treatment prematurely which makes the work of the DTCs especially criticalHoweverwhile DTCs have been shown to reduce costs to the overall criminal justice system and to society at largerecidivism within the drug treatment court system continues to be a problemLive InspiredLLC was established into deliver a daily recovery oriented TxM to subscribersand has since expanded to offer daily messages from over twenty different programsInwe participated in a pilot project to develop recovery oriented text messages for individuals sentenced through a DTCResults demonstrated that DTC participants responded favorably to these messageswhich were used by the presiding judge as an incentive for completing specific program requirementsFor the proposed studywe will fully develop and implement an interactive text messaging intervention system for individuals newly sentenced in drug treatment courta period during which they are expected to begin addressing underlying issues related to their addictionand during which time they are highly vulnerable to relapse and noncompliance with mandated activitiesParticipants will complete surveys at baseline and be randomly assigned to receivedays of daily supportive text messagesTXSin addition to their usual careor a treatment as usual controlTAUAfter dayin addition to collecting survey datawe will interview participants to obtain more detailed qualitative data about their experiences with the courtsandif in the TXS grouptheir experiences with our programOutcomes include compliance with Court mandated appointmentsabstinence from drug usemeasured by urine testingparticipation in substance abuse treatmentparticipation in any court mandated education employment training and other programs as directed by the CourtWe anticipate those given TXS will show higher rates of compliance and fewer positive drug screen results than those in the TAU groupEstimates of effect size and qualitative data will be used to prepare for a future Phase II application PROJECT NARRATIVE Drug Treatment Courts reflect the cutting edge of newinnovative treatment approaches for substance abuse within the criminal justice systemThe proposed producta text messaging system to aid recovery efforts that is integrated into the Drug Treatment Courtandapos s programholds the promise of reducing recidivismand improving treatment outcomesThis program can have an important impact on public health and as a produce has positive market potential