Accessing Diversion from Custody: Retention and Classification in a Drug Treatment Court

Abstract

This study assesses potential factors influencing program retention for the Winnipeg, Manitoba, drug treatment court (DTC) such as demographic, legal, addiction, and criminal justice risk. Research presented here uses actuarial instruments incorporating static and dynamic factors in classifying risk/need: the Institutional Security Assessment (ISA), the Primary Risk Assessment (PRA), and the Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI). After outlining participant demographic, legal, and risk characteristics, bivariate and multivariate correlates of program attrition are examined (N = 250). Only a few indicators reliably increased the likelihood of program attrition: drug trafficking charge, prior criminal history, and higher actuarial risk/needs assessment rankings. Female participants did better in some circumstances. Demographic factors such as age, Indigenous status, marital status, prior employment, and education had no substantial impact on treatment retention. Drug of choice also showed no effect on retention. Actuarial instruments were effective at predicting program completion, and their use at the referral stages of DTC programming is recommended.