Journal Article

Offender Diversion Into Substance Use Disorder Treatment: The Economic Impact of California’s Proposition 36

Evans, Elizabeth, Urada, Darren, Nosyk, Bohdan, Anglin, M. Douglas, Jaffe, Adi

2013

Overview

Objectives. We determined the costs and savings attributable to the California Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (SACPA), which mandated probation or continued parole with substance abuse treatment in lieu of incarceration for adult offenders convicted of nonviolent drug offenses and probation and parole violators. Methods. We used individually linked, population-level administrative data to define intervention and control cohorts of offenders meeting SACPA eligibility criteria. Using multivariate difference-in-differences analysis, we estimated the effect of SACPA implementation on the total and domain-specific costs to state and county governments, controlling for fixed individual and county characteristics and changes in crime at the county level. Results. The additional costs of treatment were more than offset by savings in other domains, primarily in the costs of incarceration. We estimated the statewide policy effect as an adjusted savings of$2317 (95% confidence interval = $ 1905, $2730) per offender over a 30-month postconviction period. SACPA implementation resulted in greater incremental cost savings for Blacks and Hispanics, who had markedly higher rates of conviction and incarceration. Conclusions. The monetary benefits to government exceeded the additional costs of SACPA implementation and provision of treatment.

• Publisher: American Public Health Association
• Subject: Addictive behaviors / Adult / Adult and adolescent clinical studies / Alternative sentencing / Biological and medical sciences / Black people / California / Cohort Studies / Convictions / Cost control / Cost-Benefit Analysis / Costs / Counties / Crime - legislation & jurisprudence / Crime - prevention & control / Crime prevention / Criminal justice / Criminals / Drug abuse / Drug courts / Drug crimes / Drug offenders / Drug use / Drugs / Economic growth / Economic impact / Election results / Female / Funding / GDP / General aspects / Generalized linear models / Gross Domestic Product / Health care expenditures / Health services utilization / Humans / Implementation / Imprisonment / Intervention / Latin American cultural groups / Law enforcement / Local government / Male / Medical sciences / Medical treatment / Miscellaneous / Noncompliance / Nonviolence / Offenders / Offenses / Other Statistics/Evaluation/Research / Parole / Parole & probation / Prisons - economics / Probation / Probation service / Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry / Psychopathology. Psychiatry / Public health / Public health. Hygiene / Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine / Recidivism / Research and Practice / Savings / Social disorganization / State elections / State laws / Studies / Substance abuse / Substance abuse treatment / Substance use / Substance use disorder / Substance-Related Disorders - economics / Substance-Related Disorders - therapy / Young Adult