Racial Differences in Graduation Rates From Adult Drug Treatment Courts

Abstract

Drug courts have demonstrated promise as an intervention that is effective in reducing recidivism and thereby providing a viable alternative to incarceration for drug-involved offenders. Despite their promise, it is not clear that African Americans are as likely to have positive outcomes in drug courts as other clients. This article reviews recent research on racial differences in completion of drug court and uses multivariate analysis to assess the impact of race on drug court graduation in a Midwestern jurisdiction. We find evidence that race may interact with psychological distress to reduce the likelihood of graduation for African American clients.

KEYTERMS:

• Drug courts
• African American
• graduation rates
• adult drug court treatment

Acknowledgments

An earlier version of this article was presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Cincinnati, Ohio, March 2008. This research was supported by a grant from the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, as well as by a sabbatical leave provided to McKean by Ball State University. The authors wish to express their gratitude to the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions.

Notes

1. A copy of the questionnaire may be found at https://www.samhsa-gpra.samhsa.gov/ under Data Collection Tools—Services—GPRA Tool.