The criminal justice system in alcohol use treatment: a nationwide analysis of racial disparities in treatment referral and completion.

Background: Alcohol use and the criminal justice (CJ) system have long been integrally connected in the United States and have both disproportionally impacted Communities of Color. Despite this connection, scholarly literature has largely focused on substance use as a whole, and little literature has examined the influence of race on CJ referral to alcohol treatment and treatment outcomes.

Methods: A total of 749,349 cases from the treatment episodes dataset discharge were used in the current study. A series of ANOVA and logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the impact of race on (i) likelihood of referral to alcohol treatment by the CJ system and (ii) the association between CJ referral and treatment completion.

Results: Results revealed significant disparities in both who is referred to alcohol treatment by the CJ system and the association of that referral to treatment completion. Notably, American Indian/Alaska Native people were significantly more likely than people of all other races to be referred by the CJ system. However, American Indian/Alaska Native people showed the smallest association between CJ referral and treatment completion.

Conclusions: Contrary to previous literature, findings showed that referral of and positive association between CJ referral and treatment completion are not equal across people of different races. Taken together, these results highlight continued racial inequities in the role of the CJ system in alcohol treatment and the unique potential for non-CJ-related treatment to best serve people combatting alcohol use disorder.