Literature Search

Abstract

Treatment courts are designed to provide a continuum of care intended to support participants as they experience the structure of the criminal justice system, the opportunities for change provided by treatment programs, and the support available through social services. Despite the growing use of Peer Recovery Support Specialists (PRSSs) in treatment courts, little is known about their qualifications, roles, or effectiveness. To address this knowledge gap, a national survey of adult drug treatment court coordinators was conducted to understand how these programs are using PRSSs and whether common structures of implementation are emerging.

Abstract

Background: Co-occurring parental substance use and child maltreatment has increased in recent years and is associated with poor child welfare outcomes. The Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams (START) program was developed to meet the needs of these families.

Objective: A randomized controlled trial was implemented to compare START to usual child welfare services on three outcomes: out-of-home care (OOHC) placements; reunification; and subsequent child maltreatment.

Participants and setting: Families reported to child welfare services in Jefferson County, Kentucky, were eligible if they had a current finding of child maltreatment or services needed, substance use as a primary risk factor, a child under six years of age, and no other open child welfare cases.

Methods: Biased coin randomization was used for a control: treatment randomization ratio of 1:2. Analyses were conducted using intent-to-treat (ITT), though a subsample of families receiving services was also analyzed. Differences were assessed using t-tests, chi-square, and risk ratios.

Results: A total of 348 families including 526 children were randomized to START (n = 346) and usual services (n = 180). There were no significant differences between groups on the three outcomes in the ITT sample or the subsample that received services, though the START OOHC rate was 7 percentage points lower (relative difference: 21.6 %) and the reunification rate was 13 percentage points higher (relative difference: 27.6 %) in the subsample.

Conclusions: Although differences between groups were not significantly different, the relative differences were meaningful and this is the third study showing lower rates of OOHC among START relative to usual services. Additionally, the START reunification rate is higher than the overall U.S. average in spite of notable risk factors.

Abstract

Background: The 2018 Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) shifted child welfare funding to interventions proven effective in preserving families with parental substance use and child welfare involvement. The Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams (START) program serves this population with FFPSA aligned goals.

Objective: This study was the first to test the sustained effects of START from the initial CPS report through 12-months post-intervention.

Participants and setting: Children (n = 784) receiving START services in four sites were compared to 784 children receiving child welfare treatment as usual (TAU).

Methods: Using child welfare administrative data, children in START were matched to children in TAU using propensity score matching. Outcomes were tested during the intervention period, and at six- and 12-months post-intervention using comparative statistics and multilevel logistic regression.

Results: The odds of START children being placed in out-of-home care (OOHC) during the intervention period were half those of children in TAU (20.3% vs. 35.2%, p < .001, OR = 0.47, 95% CI [0.37, 0.59]). When placed in OOHC, START children were more likely to be reunified with their parents (p = .042, OR = 1.44, 95% CI [0.99, 1.62]). At 12-months post-intervention, 68.5% of START and 56.0% of TAU-served children remained free from both OOHC placement and child abuse and neglect (after multilevel clustering adjustment: p < .001, OR = 1.85, 95% CI [1.41, 2.43]).

Conclusion: The primary impact of START was significantly reduced rates of OOHC placement, with results sustained through 12-months post-intervention and after accounting for family clusters and site differences.

Abstract

Abstract

Objective: To assess characteristics of exposures to contaminated poppy and identify trends in exposure and poppy-related deaths.

Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of adverse events associated with exposure to poppy products (primarily poppy seeds) from the American Association of Poison Control Centers National Poison Data System (NPDS), 2000-2018, supplemented with analysis of overdoses and deaths related to poppy from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutritions Adverse Event Reporting System (CAERS) (2004-2018), and the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) (1968-2018).

Results: There were 591 NPDS exposure cases involving poppy between 2000 and 2018 including 392 in persons aged 13+. Rates of intentional exposures in NPDS increased among the age 13+ group over the study period. Most intentional exposures occurred in males in their teens and twenties. NPDS included 18 overdoses and three deaths likely attributable to poppy, most involving poppy seed tea. CAERS and FAERS included five additional deaths likely attributable to opioids in poppy.

Conclusions: Including previously reported cases, there are now at least 19 U.S. deaths associated with poppy seeds in the literature. We recommend that practitioners working in opioid treatment and recovery be alert to use of poppy to treat pain and symptoms of withdrawal.

Abstract

Abstract

Objective: Perceptions of the legitimacy of a society's legal system help explain individual responses to courts and legal actors. Normative considerations such as fair and respectful treatment as well as social identification have demonstrated the ability to enhance perceived legal legitimacy and future cooperation. Veterans treatment courts (VTCs) are a rapidly disseminating and understudied intervention. Their targeting of a socially esteemed group presents an interesting venue to explore normative theories of justice. The present study tested a modified version of Tyler's theory of procedural justice in this setting.

Hypotheses: We hypothesized that procedural justice, social bonds, and receipt of gratitude for military service would be positively associated with veteran identity and legal legitimacy. We further hypothesized that participants' identification as veterans would mediate the relationships between the three independent variables and legitimacy. Method: A cross-sectional survey design was used with a convenience sample (N = 191) of participants in two VTCs. Analyses controlled for race, ethnicity, recidivism risk, and combat exposure. Results: Perceptions of procedural justice, social bonds, and receipt of gratitude were positively associated with veteran identity and perceptions of legal legitimacy. Further, veteran identity was found to be a significant mediator between the first three constructs and legal legitimacy.

Conclusions: The results support the importance of procedural justice in explaining perceptions of legal legitimacy in a novel context that is rapidly proliferating and understudied and has unique social identity considerations. The addition of gratitude and veteran identity to Tyler's model raises implications for VTC practice and further inquiry.

Abstract

Variations of problem-solving court programs have been created to address a wide variety of offense-related problems, such as drug addiction, mental health, domestic violence, homelessness, and many others. Yet there is little knowledge as to whether this model is equally effective across these many versions of the model. This study uses data from the 2012 Census of Problem-Solving Courts to assess whether there is variation in the proportion of successful program completions across program types. Additionally, this study examined what program-level characteristics are associated with increased successful program completions. The findings of this study suggest that, while there is some variation in program success across program types, there is also substantial variation within types of programs. That is, not one type of problem-solving court program is more effective than any other. The results of this study also found that the programs that offer a larger variety of services are likely to have higher levels of successful program completions. Future research should follow these preliminary findings by examining variations in other outcomes measures of success.