Is In‐Prison Treatment Enough? A Cost‐Effectiveness Analysis of Prison‐Based Treatment and Aftercare Services for Substance‐Abusing Offenders

Abstract

This study performed a cost‐effectiveness analysis (CEA) of the Amity in‐prison Therapeutic Community (TC) and Vista aftercare programs for criminal offenders in California. For the average treatment participant, the cost of treatment was $4,112, which led to approximately fifty‐one fewer days incarcerated (36% less) than the average individual in the control group. This implies that, for the average offender, treatment reduced recidivism at a cost of $80 per incarceration day. For participants who received both in‐prison treatment and aftercare services, an additional day of incarceration was avoided at a cost of $51 per day relative to those that received in‐prison treatment only.