Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Dec;33(4):341-52.
doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2007.03.002. Epub 2007 May 23.

Are Washington Circle performance measures associated with decreased criminal activity following treatment?

Deborah W Garnick  1 , Constance M Horgan, Margaret T Lee, Lee Panas, Grant A Ritter, Steve Davis, Tracy Leeper, Rebecca Moore, Mark Reynolds
Affiliations

Are Washington Circle performance measures associated with decreased criminal activity following treatment?

Deborah W Garnick et al. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2007 Dec.

Abstract

This study examines the association between adherence to during-treatment process measures of quality (defined as initiation and engagement in treatment as developed by the Washington Circle) and outcome measures (defined as arrests and incarcerations) in the following year. The data come from the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services administrative data system linked to data from state criminal justice agencies. Clients who initiated a new episode of outpatient treatment and who engaged in treatment were significantly less likely to be arrested or incarcerated in the following year. Initiation of substance abuse treatment alone, without engagement in treatment, was not significantly associated with arrests or incarcerations. These findings validate the clinical importance of the Washington Circle performance measures of initiation and engagement. Applying the "process-of-care" measures can make a difference when they are used as a target for quality improvement in treatment facilities.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

    1. Alterman AI, Langenbucher J, Morrison RL. State-level treatment outcome studies using administrative databases. Eval Rev. 2001;25(2):162–183. - PubMed
    1. Banks SM, Pandiani JA, Bramley J. Approaches to risk-adjusting outcome measures applied to criminal justice involvement after community service. J Behav Health Serv Res. 2001;28(3):235–246. - PubMed
    1. Box-Steffensmeier JM, Jones BS. Event History Modeling: A Guide for Social Scientists. New York, New York: Cambridge University Press; 2004.
    1. Brecht ML, Greenwell L, Anglin MD. Methamphetamine treatment: trends and predictors of retention and completion in a large state treatment system (1992–2002) J Subst Abuse Treat. 2005;29(4):295–306. - PubMed
    1. Butzin CA, Martin SS, Inciardi JA. Treatment during transition from prison to community and subsequent illicit drug use. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2005;28(4):351–358. - PubMed

Publication types