The Impact of IMPACT: An Assessment of the Effectiveness of a Jail-Based Treatment Program

Abstract

This study examined the effects of a drug treatment program in Chicago's Cook County Jail (CCJ). The program, known as the Integrated Multiphase Program of Assessment and Comprehensive Treatment (IMPACT), involves three agencies and is based on the general model of a modified therapeutic community. IMPACT significantly reduced rearrest rates and delayed time-to-rearrest for program participants. Outcomes improved as length of stay in the program increased up to 150 days, after which there were no further reductions in recidivism. In addition, community treatment significantly reduced rearrest rates even for inmates who stayed an optimal length of time in the program.

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