The impact of resource facilitation on recidivism for individuals with traumatic brain injury: A pilot, non-randomized controlled study

ABSTRACT

Objective

Research has shown that as many as 60% of adults in the criminal justice system have a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI), but the examination of effective interventions to reduce recidivism has only just begun. The present study explored the extent to which resource facilitation (RF) may decrease recidivism among those individuals with TBI.

Methods

Over a 2-year period, a prospective, non-randomized controlled study was conducted that included 1,504 justice-involved individuals exiting the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC). Participants were screened for a history of TBI as they entered parole or community corrections, with 211 (14%) offenders screening positive for moderate-to-severe TBI. Thirty-one of the 211 offenders offered RF chose to participate in the intervention, while 180 declined and served as the comparison group.

Results

Participants in RF were found to recidivate significantly less often at 6 and 12 months post-release when looking at rearrests or return to incarceration combined between the two groups.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that the increased risk for reincarceration in those individuals with TBI could be mitigated by the use of RF.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescence
• adults
• recidivism
• resource facilitation
• traumatic brain injury

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest

Additional information

Funding

This work was conducted with support from the US Department of Health & Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau Traumatic Brain Injury Implementation Partnership Grant (Grant Number H21MC26914). The contents of this publication do not necessarily represent the policy of the Health Resources and Services Administration and do not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.