Impact of Drug Treatment on Recidivism - Do Mandatory Programs Make a Difference? Evidence From Kansas's Senate Bill 123

• NCJ Number: 245062
• Date Published: September 2013
• Author(s): Andres F. Rengifo, Don Stemen
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Article
• Award: Alternative Sentencing Policies for Drug Offenders: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Kansas Senate Bill 123

Annotation

This study compared the recidivism of eligible drug possessors sentenced under Kansas’s mandatory drug treatment policy.

Abstract

This study compares the recidivism of eligible drug possessors sentenced under Kansas’s mandatory drug treatment policy (SB 123) to those of similar offenders receiving other sentences. Using multinomial logistic regression, the authors found that participation in SB 123 was generally associated with a decrease in the likelihood of recidivism. However, models relying on matched samples of offenders generated via propensity scores showed that SB 123 did not have a significant impact on recidivism rates relative to community corrections and actually increased recidivism rates relative to court services. The authors argue that the limited effect of SB 123 on recidivism stems from the net-widening effects often encountered with mandatory sentencing policies rather than inherent problems with the delivery of treatment. Abstract published by arrangement with Sage Journals.