Lessons Learned from a Mixed Methods Evaluation of a Jail-based Co-Occurring Disorders Treatment Program

This study evaluated the planning, implementation, and preliminary outcomes of a US Bureau of Justice Assistance funded justice mental health focused reentry program for offenders with co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders detained in a county jail in central coastal Florida, the Flagler County Detention Center’s award-winning SMART Program. A mixed methods evaluation strategy included qualitative data collection through site-based interviews and observation to assess services delivery toward program fidelity demonstration and statistical analysis of program outcomes using a quasi-experimental design. Qualitative data revealed structural and contextual variables that presented program implementation and fidelity challenges and quantitative analysis revealed that treatment group participants were significantly less likely than the comparison group to be re-arrested during the follow-up period and less likely that rearrest was due to a new charge. Multivariate logistic regression findings indicated that none of the demographic (e.g., sex, age, race), diagnostic (i.e., MI, SUD, COD), or criminal history variables (e.g., prior felony convictions, current charge) significantly impacted the odds of recidivism. Results also revealed that opiates, heroin, and fentanyl and then methamphetamine were the most common self-reported drugs of choice among both the treatment and comparison groups.