Needs Assessment and Services for Drug-Abusing Women Offenders

Abstract

The special needs of drug-abusing women offenders, who have become the most rapidly growing segment of the criminal justice population, are most effectively addressed by a range of rehabilitative services in addition to drug treatment. A nationwide survey of community-based treatment programs was conducted to determine how programs assess needs and what services they provide. Results from 159 programs revealed widespread inadequacies of the current treatment system in terms of needs assessment procedures and provisions of adequate services for this population. Programs for women only tended to offer more services designed for women's special needs than did both-sex programs. Findings from this and earlier surveys indicate the need for more programs that comprehensively assess the needs of drug-abusing women offenders and that offer services that are particularly needed by these women.