U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Evaluation of the CARAT Initiative

NCJ Number
211092
Journal
Howard Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 44 Issue: 4 Dated: September 2005 Pages: 357-373
Author(s)
Karen Harman; Ian Paylor
Date Published
September 2005
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This article presents an evaluation of the efficacy of CARAT schemes, a throughcare program for drug users leaving prisons in England and returning to specific localities.
Abstract
In the late 1990s, England’s Prison System established CARAT (Counseling, Assessment, Referral, Advice, and Throughcare) schemes to provide a consistent and standardized intervention approach for drug using offenders while in prison and upon release. A major focus of the initiative was to ease the transition from prison to community and provide a seamless system of care. The current evaluation involved interviews with 10 male prisoners both before and after their release from prison, as well as interviews with CARAT staff members and staff from other agencies. Interviews were semi-structured and focused on beliefs and experiences of the drug users and the staff working with them before and after release. The evaluation findings underscore the shortcomings of the CARAT program, especially in bridging the gap between custody and the community for drug using prisoners. The authors call for a radical redesign of the services for drug using inmates upon their release, particularly in terms of facilitating effective working partnerships among the agencies involved with drug users and prisoners. Notes, references