Original article
Reducing Drug Use, Human Immunodeficiency Virus Risk, and Recidivism Among Young Men Leaving Jail: Evaluation of the REAL MEN Re-entry Program

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2010.01.008Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

This study assesses the impact of REAL MEN (Returning Educated African-American and Latino Men to Enriched Neighborhoods), an intervention designed to reduce drug use, risky sexual behavior and criminal activity among 16–18-year-old males leaving New York City jails.

Methods

Participants (N = 552) were recruited in city jails and randomly assigned to receive an intensive 30-hour jail/community-based intervention or a single jail-based discharge planning session. All participants were also referred to optional services at a community-based organization (CBO). One year after release from jail, 397 (72%) participants completed a follow-up interview. Logistic and ordinary least squares regression was used to evaluate the impact of the intervention on drug use, risky sexual behavior, criminal justice involvement, and school/work involvement post release.

Results

Assignment to REAL MEN and, independently, use of CBO services, significantly reduced the odds of substance dependence (odds ratio [OR] = .52, p ≤ .05; OR = .41, p ≤ .05, respectively) 1 year after release. Those assigned to the intervention spent 29 fewer days in jail compared with the comparison group (p ≤ .05). Compared to non-CBO visitors, those who visited the CBO were more likely to have attended school or found work in the year after release (OR = 2.02, p ≤ .01).

Conclusions

Jail and community services reduced drug dependence 1 year after release and the number of days spent in jail after the index arrest. While these findings suggest that multifaceted interventions can improve outcomes for young men leaving jail, rates of drug use, risky sexual behavior, and recidivism remained high for all participants after release from jail, suggesting the need for additional policy and programmatic interventions.

Section snippets

Recruitment, interviews, and randomization

Participants were recruited into the REAL MEN (Returning Educated African-American and Latino Men to Enriched Neighborhoods) project from two facilities located at the New York City Department of Correction's Rikers Island Detention Center that house all New York City male adolescent inmates. In New York State, youths aged 16 and older are sent to adult jails; those under 16 enter the juvenile justice system. During the study period (2003–2007), about 1,700 adolescent males aged above 16 and

Participants

Project staff recruited and interviewed participants for the study between 2003 and 2007. Of the 552 participants who completed the intake interview, 397 (72%) completed the follow-up interview. All participants were male, and the mean age at the time of the intake interview was 17.99 (SD .71). One year after release from jail, their mean age was 19.60 (SD .93), suggesting that on average, these adolescents spent 7 months in jail before release. The majority of the sample was African American

Discussion

In summary, the REAL MEN project demonstrated the capacity to recruit and engage male adolescents to voluntarily participate in services while in jail and after their release, as well as the ability to maintain contact with them after release. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of conducting randomized intervention trials that follow up incarcerated people after release. They also highlight the labor-intensive process that goes into achieving high response rates in such studies. Our

Acknowledgments

Data collection for the REAL MEN (Returning Educated African-American and Latino Men to Enriched Neighborhoods) project was supported by the National Institute of Drug Abuse [R01 DA014725], Principal Investigator, Nicholas Freudenberg. We acknowledge the REAL MEN project staff, Juan Battle, Sarah Bradley Piccard; The Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies staff, Sandro Galea; and the community-based organization that provided services to our participants. We also thank the young men who

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