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Preliminary Evaluation of the Mineral Area Treatment Center (MATC)

NCJ Number
167445
Author(s)
T A Pierson
Date Published
1992
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This report presents the methodology and findings of an evaluation of Missouri's Mineral Area Treatment Center (MATC), a 90-day drug treatment program.
Abstract
The program, which has operated for nearly 16 months, focuses on felony probation violators, who enter the program in lieu of conventional incarceration in a State facility. The program is structured, with an agenda of lectures, films, therapy, study groups, recreation, and rules. MATC uses a cognitive approach, a reality-based orientation, and a confrontive treatment methodology. The program also emphasizes a diligent application of the 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. To obtain a rapid assessment of this program, the evaluation examined the first 100 MATC entrants. Among the 100 entrants to MATC, 91 successfully completed the program, and 9 were revoked to prison for failure in the program. As of August 25, 1992, 10 of the released graduates have been returned to prison; one was returned with a new crime, with the balance being parole violators. The MATC group and the probation revokees were similar in age, conviction age, nonviolent type of offense, and were male. Even including the MATC program failures, among releasees from each group, the rate of return to incarceration was twice that of the MATC group over the same period. There was also a statistically significant known employment rate among MATC releasees (74.7 percent) than among the released probation revokees (57.7 percent). Prison return rates for released inmates were twice as great as the MATC group. 2 tables