Co-occuring Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders of Women in Prison: An Evaluation of the WestCare Foundation's Dual Diagnosis Program in Illinois
Files
Date
10/5/2018
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
Abstract
Co-occurring disorders (COD)—both substance use disorders (SUD) and mental health disorders (MHD)—affect many women incarcerated in prison. Incarcerated women are diagnosed with COD more often than their male counterparts (BJS, 2017). This is due in part to risk factors such as childhood sexual abuse, physical abuse, and domestic violence that occur more often to women offenders and make them more likely to be diagnosed COD in their lifetime. To address the needs of women in prison with COD, evidence-based programming underpinned by principles of trauma-informed and gender-responsive frameworks are needed. Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) researchers conducted a process evaluation of the Dual Diagnosis treatment program operated by WestCare Foundation at Logan Correctional Center for women in Illinois. This report offers findings from that evaluation. Researchers specifically sought to learn how the program operated, about clients and their views on the program, and staff perceptions of the program.
Description
Co-occurring disorders (COD)—both substance use disorders (SUD) and mental health disorders (MHD)—affect many women incarcerated in prison. Incarcerated women are diagnosed with COD more often than their male counterparts (BJS, 2017). This is due in part to risk factors such as childhood sexual abuse, physical abuse, and domestic violence that occur more often to women offenders and make them more likely to be diagnosed COD in their lifetime. To address the needs of women in prison with COD, evidence-based programming underpinned by principles of trauma-informed and gender-responsive frameworks are needed. Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) researchers conducted a process evaluation of the Dual Diagnosis treatment program operated by WestCare Foundation at Logan Correctional Center for women in Illinois. This report offers findings from that evaluation. Researchers specifically sought to learn how the program operated, about clients and their views on the program, and staff perceptions of the program.