KEY-CREST SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROGRAM (DE)

Program Description
The KEY-Crest Substance Abuse Program is a comprehensive drug treatment program that was implemented in the Delaware correctional system by Dr. James A. Inciardi of the University of Delaware. This multi-phase program uses therapeutic-based programming to treat and modify the behaviors of substance abusers in prison and in a work-release center. In both settings, program participants live in a therapeutic community where they learn to help themselves and other residents in order to change their behavior and reduce their drug use. Inmates can volunteer for the program if they meet the eligibility criteria and are within 18 months of their release date.

In 1987, the State of Delaware (with the assistance of the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance) established the first stage of the substance abuse treatment program, called the KEY. The KEY program is prison-based, but program participants are separated from the general correctional population to a therapeutic community where they will not encounter negative attitudes about drug abuse treatment and can be held accountable for their actions. Prisoners spend about 12 months in the KEY program where they receive substance abuse treatment and various behavior modification programs.

The second stage is a transitional treatment program at a Crest Outreach Center where participants spend another six months. The Crest component is a therapeutic community work-release center that builds upon the prison-based KEY program. The Crest Outreach Center has been in operation for over seven years and was established with the help of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Inmates go through four phases of treatment while they are at the Crest Outreach Center. During the Entry phase, inmates are expected to go through an orientation and become acclimated to life outside prison. In the Primary phase, counselors and inmates work on a transition plan and explore possible triggers of relapse. The third Job-seeking phase requires that offenders work on interview skills and job training skills. During the final Work-release phase, inmates maintain a job while living at the facility and attending drug treatment. The program requires that, during the first three months of this phase, participants stay at the center and look for a job. After completing the treatment program at Crest, participants may move to aftercare. The aftercare period lasts for six months; even though individuals are released into the community, they maintain contact with the program. While in community aftercare, inmates must refrain from all drug and alcohol use and attend group sessions, counseling, and periodic drug testing.

Program Goals
The goals of this program are to provide treatment to reduce drug abuse and modify the behavior of substance abusers.

Networking, Partnering & Collaboration
The Delaware Department of Corrections collaborates with the Correctional Medical Services division (which assists with the operation of the treatment programs), the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Outcomes
Evaluation results reveal that residential treatment in combination with community aftercare can be very successful in reducing recidivism and drug relapse. Seventy-seven percent of the inmates who participated in the prison treatment and work release treatment programs had not been rearrested at the 18 month mark, compared to the control group in which less than half (46 percent) had not been rearrested
within 18 months. Also, 47 percent of the inmates who participated in both the in-prison treatment and work release treatment programs were drug-free at 18 months, compared to the control group where only 16 percent were drug free at 18 months.

Additional Reading
Lana D. Harrison. 2001• "The Revolving Door for Drug-Involved Offenders: Challenges and Opportunities." Crime and Delinquency 47 (3): 462-485.

James A. Inciardi, 1996. "Corrections-Based Continuum of Effective Drug Abuse." Research Brief, June. Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.

Click here for a PDF of all Health Sample Programs (220k)