Research Report Evaluation of Breaking the Cycle
Adele V. Harrell, Ojmarrh Mitchell, Jeffrey Merrill, Douglas Marlowe
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The Breaking the Cycle demonstrations tested the feasibility and impact of system-wide intervention to reduce drug use among offenders by requiring felony defendants to undergo screening and participate in drug testing and screening as a condition of pretrial release. The core elements of the Breaking the Cycle model were early intervention, judicial oversight, graduated sanctions and incentives, and collaboration among justice and treatment agencies. The quasi-experimental evaluation of the three Breaking the Cycle sites found significant reductions in drug use, criminal offending, and family problems. The ratio of the costs averted for each dollar invested ranged from 3.2 to 7.7 across the sites. The report includes lessons from the process evaluation on how to implement Breaking the Cycle  strategies.

Research and Evidence Justice and Safety
Expertise Courts, Corrections, and Reentry
Tags Courts and sentencing