PHILADELPHIA, June 10, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Treatment Research Institute (TRI) today announced that its evidence-based triage instrument for problem-solving courts (RANT®), is now utilized in more than 250 drug courts across the country. This tool rapidly generates profiles of offender criminogenic risks and clinical needs which are critical to improving decision-making for drug court judges and other criminal justice officials.
Research findings demonstrate that outcomes in community correctional settings are influenced by how well drug and DUI-involved offenders are matched to community based treatment services and criminal justice supervision based on their levels of risks and needs. By classifying offenders into one of four risk/needs quadrants, the tool provides research-based recommendations for the most effective and efficient level of criminal justice supervision and behavioral health care. Courts in more than 30 states have adopted this tool.
"We are really beginning to see a shift in the national policy to treat addiction as a public health problem, and nowhere is the epidemic of substance abuse more apparent than in our criminal justice systems," said David Festinger, PhD, Director of the Law & Ethics Section at the Treatment Research Institute. "More than two thirds of U.S. jail and prison inmates, parolees, and probationers have significant problems related to drugs and alcohol. Risk and needs tools such as the RANT provide an evidence based approach to improving public health and public safety."
TRI has been investigating the critical elements of specialized programs for drug offenders for nearly two decades. The RANT tool is just one component of TRI's comprehensive approach to helping court personnel and treatment providers improve outcomes. In one study facilitated by TRI's Court Solutions Suite, findings demonstrated that continuing to adapt criminal justice supervision and treatment based on offender progress led to a 30% reduction in the time to successful program completion. In turn, this resulted in approximate cost-savings of $4,000 per participant, as well as reduced burdens, increased efficiency and more effective rehabilitation outcomes for participants.
Ongoing research at TRI and elsewhere addressing drug and DUI offenders will continue to inform and refine policy and sentencing guidelines even further as the country moves towards a criminal justice approach that better balances public health with public safety concerns.
More information on the development and use of the RANT® and other tools is available on TRI's website.
About Treatment Research Institute
Treatment Research Institute (TRI), based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a nonprofit research and policy institute operating with a belief that science can only be truly impactful when it is used to improve policies, programs and practices. TRI's work focuses on applying research to change behaviors, with the ultimate goal of improving outcomes for individuals, families, and communities affected by addiction. Collaborations with distinguished partners from across the globe have enhanced TRI's quest to advance the ways in which addiction is perceived and cared for. TRI's relentless commitment to discovering and disseminating SOLUTIONS to substance-use problems drives its work, mission, and vision. www.tresearch.org