Research by Author & Topic

Publications by Caterina Gouvis Roman on Substance Abuse

The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and the Corporation for Supportive Housing Ohio Office developed a pilot program that provides permanent supportive housing to individuals released from several Ohio prisons. The Pilot intends to reduce recidivism and homelessness/shelter usage and decrease the costs associated with multiple service system use. The Urban Institute is evaluating the Pilot to explore whether it is meeting its intended goals. This Interim Report covers the first year of the evaluation—describing the Pilot and its eligibility requirements; the UI evaluation methods; and the characteristics and preliminary outcomes of the Pilot's first 57 clients.

In this letter to The Charlotte Observer editor, Caterina Roman explains that the recent surge in drug use and other high-risk behaviors among young Latinos can be a sign of their adjustment to the American culture and that the only way to prevent this is to understand the process of acculturation.

The Opportunity to Succeed (OPTS) program was designed to reduce substance abuse relapse and criminal recidivism by providing comprehensive, case-managed reentry services to felony offenders who had drug offense histories. This article describes how a process and impact evaluation of the multisite OPTS program illuminates the importance of employment and related services for returning prisoners.

In October 2001, the Urban Institute and the Alliance of Concerned Men conducted a focus group with individuals who had successfully made the transition from prison to the community. The goal of the focus group was to explore "ingredients for success" as perceived by the focus group participants, and to seek their advice as to ways that the District of Columbia government and non-profit agencies could better support reentry and reintegration for prisoners returning to the District.