Jennifer A. Pealer - Correctional Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Communities: Reducing Recidivism Through Behavior Change

Drawing on original research on the effectiveness of a therapeutic community (TC) in reducing recidivism among juvenile male offenders, Correctional Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Communities: Reducing Recidivism Through Behavior Change provides a comprehensive review of the current state of drug treatment for the offending population, especially the link between juvenile offending and substance abuse. The book assesses the factors predicting successful completion of treatment, as well as the methodological limitation of previous TC program reviews, and suggests policy implication and routes for future research.

Using improvements such as multiple outcome criteria, long-term follow-up, matching groups on risk and needs, and the employment of a standardized instrument to measure program quality, Correctional Rehabilitation assesses the degree to which participation in the TC affects antisocial attitudes and reduces delinquency. Readers will explore how TCs can be designed to influence adolescent drug offenders and ultimately reduce recidivism. This book is essential reading for students, researchers, practitioners, and other stakeholders focusing on the development of treatment programs.

Jennifer A. Pealer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at East Tennessee State University (ETSU), where she teaches courses in corrections, juvenile justice, and statistics. Prior to joining ETSU, she was a Senior Policy Analyst with Council of State Governments Justice Center, where she assisted multiple states in implementing justice reinvestment legislation. She was also the Assistant Commissioner of Research and Program Development for the Kansas Juvenile Justice Authority, where she was responsible for developing, implementing, and overseeing evidence-based practices, programs, and training agendas. Dr. Pealer has served as a consultant to many correctional programs throughout the United States by providing training and technical assistance in offender risk/need instruments and effective practices in risk reduction and techniques for changing offending behavior. She has published articles in the field of correctional rehabilitation and public opinion on crime and correctional issues. She earned her B.A. and M.A. in criminal justice from East Tennessee State University and her Ph.D. in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati.

In the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s, the country saw a proliferation of correctional programming to address the rising numbers of offenders with substance abuse issues. One such approach that received considerable attention for the substance-abusing adult population was a therapeutic community. The early evidence on this approach was promising in reducing recidivism and drug use. Whereas some studies have found a reduction in criminal behavior and substance abuse, others have found null results concerning the effectiveness of therapeutic communities. Furthermore, the literature on therapeutic communities has been criticized on the following points: 1) studies fail to incorporate multiple outcome criteria to measure program success; 2) follow-up time frames have been inadequate; 3) comparison groups often fail to account for important differences between groups that are likely to affect program outcome; and 4) insufficient attention is given to the measure of program quality. Moreover, research on the effectiveness of therapeutic communities for juvenile offenders is limited. Accordingly, this research attempts to overcome the common shortcomings by 1) including multiple outcome criteria; 2) following the juveniles for a period up to 3 years after program completion; 3) using a comparison group drawn from a sample of youth that did not receive treatment but who are matched on risk and needs; and 4) using a standardized instrument to measure program quality.