title: Comparative Effectiveness of California's Proposition 36 and Drug Court Programs Before and After Propensity Score Matching.
abstract: California's voter-initiated Proposition 36 (Prop 36) program is often unfavorably compared to drug courts, but little is empirically known about the comparative effectiveness of the two approaches. Using statewide administrative data, analyses were conducted on all Prop 36 and drug court offenders with official records of arrest and drug treatment. Propensity score matching was used to create equivalent groups, enabling comparisons of success at treatment discharge, recidivism over 12 months post-treatment entry, and magnitude of behavioral changes. Significant behavioral improvements occurred for both Prop 36 and drug court offenders, but while more Prop 36 offenders were successful at discharge, more recidivated over 12 months. Core programmatic differences likely contributed to differences in outcomes. Policy implications are discussed.
authors.affiliation: UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 1640 S. Sepulveda Blvd., 200, Los Angeles, CA, 90025, United States.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 1640 S. Sepulveda Blvd., 200, Los Angeles, CA, 90025, United States.
authors.forename: Libo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 1640 S. Sepulveda Blvd., 200, Los Angeles, CA, 90025, United States.
authors.forename: Darren
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Urada
authors.affiliation: UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 1640 S. Sepulveda Blvd., 200, Los Angeles, CA, 90025, United States.
authors.forename: M Douglas
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Anglin
keywords: Proposition 36; drug court; drug treatment outcomes; propensity scoring; recidivism