Drug Treatment Court Funding Program Evaluation

Appendix C: Data Collection Instruments

Case Study Interview Guide

All respondents

1. Tell me a little bit about yourself. What is your age, background, and how did you get involved in drugs? (NOTE TO INTERVIEWER: Record gender. Probe: race/ethnicity; First Nation/Métis/Inuit; age when began using drugs; what was their drug of choice; what crime did they commit that got them into the Drug Treatment Court)

2. How did you find out about the Drug Treatment Court Program?

3. Why did you decide to use the Drug Treatment Court instead of the regular court?

4. Are you still participating in the Drug Treatment Court Program? (If “Yes” to Q4)

5. How long have you been in the Drug Treatment Court Program? What month/year did you start in the Program?

6. Tell me about the substance abuse treatment that you have received in the Drug Treatment Court Program. Have you gone to all of your treatment sessions so far? What do you like about the treatment? (Probe: does treatment address your specific needs such as mental health issues, educational difficulties, and gender issues? Is it culturally appropriate for you?) What do you not like about it? Should any changes be made to make the treatment work better for you? What are those changes? [Q4, 5]

7. Tell me about your experience when you go to court. Do you feel the judge treats you fairly and with respect? Why or why not? (Probe: judge listens to you; has correct information about your drug use and participation in treatment; treats you with respect; treats you the same as other defendants) [Q5]

8. Are the court appearances helpful in keeping you on track to finish the Program? Why or why not? (Probe if they don’t raise it: Have you gotten sanctions or rewards from the court? If so, for what reasons? What sanctions or rewards were you given? What impacts did receiving sanctions or rewards have on you? Did they affect your willingness to stay in the Drug Treatment Court Program?) [Q9]

9. How well do you get along with your:

  1. Probation officer?
  2. Defence lawyer?
  3. Case manager?

Note to Interviewer: For each sub-part, ask: Do you feel treated fairly and with respect by him/her? Do you feel that he/she understands you? [Q5]

10. Has your drug use changed since you’ve been in the Drug Treatment Court Program? (Probe: complete abstinence/reduced use/no change/increased use or change in type of drug used) What, if anything, has helped you reduce or stop your drug use? What, if anything, has gotten in the way of reducing your drug use? [Q11, 15]

11. Did you ever fail a drug test during the Drug Treatment Court Program? If yes, what happened? (Probe: sanctions, other Program response) Did this experience have any positive or negative effects on you? Did this make you more or less willing to stay in the Drug Treatment Court Program? [Q9, 10]

12. Has your involvement in criminal activity increased, decreased, or stayed the same since you have been in the Drug Treatment Court Program? (Decreased) What has helped you stay away from criminal activity? (Increased) What crimes have you committed? What happened when you committed a crime while in the Drug Treatment Court Program? (Probe: sanctions, other Program response) Did this experience have any positive or negative effects on you? What has made staying away from criminal activity difficult? [Q17]

13. What are the best things about the Drug Treatment Court Program? What are the worst things? [Q9]

14. What things have helped you stay in the Drug Treatment Court Program? What things have made it hard for you to stay in the Drug Treatment Court Program? [Q9]

15. What would you change about the Drug Treatment Court Program to make it better? [Q9]

16. Has the Drug Treatment Court Program informed you about other services that could help you? What services did they tell you about? Have you used these services yet? (If no) Why not? (If yes) Were they helpful? What was/was not helpful? [Q5, 12] (If “No” to Q4)

17. How long were you in the Drug Treatment Court Program? What month and year did you enter the Program? What month and year did you leave the Program?

18. Did you graduate from the Program?

19. Tell me about the substance abuse treatment that you received in the Drug Treatment Court Program. Did you go to all of your treatment sessions? What did you like about the treatment? (Probe: did the treatment address your specific needs such as mental health issues, educational difficulties, and gender issues? Is it culturally appropriate for you?) What did you not like about it? Could any changes have been made to the Program to make it work better for you? What were those changes? [Q4]

20. Tell me about your experience when you went to court. Did you feel treated fairly and with respect by the judge? Why or why not? (Probe: judge listened to you; had correct information about your drug use and participation in treatment; treated you with respect; treated you the same as other defendants.) [Q5]

21. (For graduates) Were the court appearances helpful in keeping you on track to finish the Program? (For non-graduates) Were the court appearances helpful in keeping you in the Program? (For both) Why or why not? (Probe if they don’t raise it: Did you get sanctions or rewards from the court? If so, for what reasons? What sanctions or rewards were you given? What impact did receiving sanctions or rewards have on you? Did they affect your willingness to stay in the Drug Treatment Court Program?) [Q9]

22. How well do you get along with your:

  1. Probation officer
  2. Defence lawyer
  3. Case manager

Note to Interviewer: For each sub-part, ask: Do you feel treated fairly and with respect by him/her? Do you feel that he/she understands you? [Q5]

23. Did you ever fail a drug test during the Drug Treatment Court Program? If yes, what happened? (Probe: sanctions, other Program response) Did this experience have any positive or negative effects on you? Did this make you more or less willing to stay in the Drug Treatment Court Program? [Q9, 10, 11]

24. Did you commit a crime while in the Drug Treatment Court Program? If yes, what happened? (Probe: sanctions, other Program response) Did this experience have any positive or negative effects on you? Did this make you more or less willing to stay in the Drug Treatment Court Program? [Q9, 17]

25. I’m going to read a list of things that might have helped you stay in the Program. Tell me if they were very important, important, not very important, or not at all important to helping you stay in the Program, and tell me why you rated each one that way.

  1. addictions treatment
  2. family support
  3. Program team of judge, case manager, probation officer
  4. education and skills gained while in the Program
  5. counselling
  6. housing
  7. personal willingness to change

26. Was there anything else that was important to helping you stay in the Program?

27. What things made it hard for you to stay in the Drug Treatment Court Program? [Q9]

28. What were the best things about the Drug Treatment Court Program? What were the worst things? [Q9]

29. What would you change about the Drug Treatment Court Program to make it better? [Q9]

30. Did the Drug Treatment Court Program tell you about other services that could help you? What services did they tell you about? Did you use these services? (If no) Why not? (If yes) Were they helpful? What was/was not helpful? [Q5, 12]

31. Has your drug use changed since you were in the Drug Treatment Court Program? (Probe: complete abstinence/reduced use/no change/increased use or change in type of drug used) What, if anything, has helped you change your drug use? What, if anything, has gotten in the way of reducing your drug use? [Q11, 15]

32. Has your involvement in criminal activity increased, decreased, or stayed the same since you left the Drug Treatment Court Program? (Decreased) What has helped you stay away from criminal activity? (Increased) What crimes have you committed? What has made staying away from criminal activity difficult? [Q18]

All respondents

33. Has your experience in the Drug Treatment Court Program helped you make your life better? (If yes) What have you been able to do that has improved your life? (Probe: employment, health, housing status, education, family life) (If no) What help do you need that you aren’t getting? [Q16]

34. Would you recommend the Drug Treatment Court Program to people you know? Why or why not?

35. Is there anything else you would like tell me about the Drug Treatment Court Program?

Thank you for your time.

Evaluation of the Drug Treatment Court Funding Program Survey

As someone who is involved with Drug Treatment Courts (DTCs) and/or assists individuals dealing with drug addiction issues, you have been invited to participate in the evaluation of the Drug Treatment Court Funding Program (DTCFP). The DTCFP currently funds seven DTCs across Canada. The DTCFP and DTCs represent a concerted effort to break the cycle of drug use and criminal recidivism through partnerships among the criminal justice system, drug treatment services, and social service agencies.

The Department of Justice Canada is evaluating the DTCFP to better understand what works and what can be improved. The Department has hired PRA Inc., an independent research company, to conduct the evaluation. This evaluation focuses on the six longest-running DTCs (Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Regina).

Your unique perspective on the DTCs and the DTCFP is critical for this evaluation, so we would be grateful if you would take a few minutes to fill out this questionnaire. Most questions only ask you to click on the appropriate responses; however, you will also have the opportunity to explain your choices and provide some written feedback, if you choose. The questionnaire should take 30-45 minutes to complete. Participation in the survey is voluntary; you do not have to complete all questions. In addition, you do not have to complete the questionnaire all at once, but may leave the survey any time and come back later to complete the questions.

All information you offer is confidential with PRA and the Evaluation Division of the Department of Justice, and will be used only to create aggregate results to be included in the evaluation report. No individual responses will be identified.

The survey will be online until Wednesday, August 20, 2014. Your response before this time would be greatly appreciated.

At any point, feel free to contact PRA if you have questions or require further information. You can contact Amy Richmond, at PRA Inc., at 204-987-2030 or using the toll-free number, 1-888-877-6744.

Background

1. The evaluation covers the Drug Treatment Courts (DTCs) funded by the Drug Treatment Court Funding Program (DTCFP) in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Regina. Please identify with which DTCFP-funded DTC you are involved.

Since each of the DTCFP-funded DTCs operate differently, please answer the remainder of the questions in this survey in relation to the DTC with which you are most involved (i.e., “your DTC”).

2. What is your involvement with the DTC? (Check all that apply)

Drug Treatment Court design and operation

This section concerns the design and operation of the DTCs funded by the DTCFP.

3. Please read each statement below regarding DTC structure and administration and check the response that best represents your opinion with regard to your DTC. [Q1, 4, 5]

Structure and administration

a. The governance structure ensures that the DTC operates efficiently and effectively.

b. The roles and responsibilities of each DTC stakeholder group are sufficiently clear

c. There is strong collaboration among the court team

d. There is strong collaboration among the treatment team.

e. There is strong collaboration between the court team and the treatment team

4. In what way(s) could the DTC be improved in terms of structure or administration? [Q1, 4, 5]

5. Please read each statement below regarding admissions into the DTC, and check the response that best represents your opinion. [Q1, 4, 5]

a. The admission criteria are appropriate

b. The screening process for eligibility ensures that all appropriate applicants are admitted

c. Given its current caseload and resources, the DTC can handle more clients

6. In what way(s) could the DTC be improved in terms of admissions? [Q1, 4, 5]

7. Please read each statement below regarding the court and treatment program components, and check the response that best represents your opinion. [Q1, 4, 5]

a. The regularity and number of court appearances are sufficiently intensive

b. The treatment program is sufficiently intensive

c. The length of time for program completion is appropriate

d. The DTC bail conditions are generally appropriate

e. The policy toward relapses is not too stringent

f. The policy toward relapses is not too lax

g. Rewards are used when they should be

h. Sanctions are used when they should be

i. Graduation criteria are not too stringent

j. Graduation criteria are not too lax

8. In what way(s) could the DTC be improved in terms of the court process or treatment component? [Q1, 4, 5]

9. Please indicate what, if any, changes you have observed in the past five years with regard to the volume of applications to the DTC. [Q1]

If 01, 02, 04, or 05 (identified an increase or decrease): To what do you attribute the change in volume of applications to the DTC? What impact has this had on the DTC?

10. In the past five years, have you noticed any change(s) in the types of applicants who are eligible for the DTC program? [Q1]

If yes: Please explain the nature of the change(s) that you have observed with regard to the types of eligible applicants:

11. To what do you attribute the changes that you have observed in the past five years regarding the types of eligible DTC applicants? [Q1, 4, 6]

12. What impact(s) do you feel that the changes you have observed in the past five years regarding the types of eligible DTC applicants have had on the DTC? [Q1, 4, 6]

13. If selected 01 or 04 to question 2 (question for members or administrators of the DTC team): Is your DTC experiencing difficulties attracting any specific target groups? (Check all that apply) [Q1, 4]

14. If selected 01, 02, 03, 04, or 66 to question 13: Do you have any suggestions for how to expand the reach of the DTC (in particular to the target groups it is having difficulty attracting)? [Q4]

15. To what extent are DTCs serving the needs of target populations? Please read each statement below and check the response that best represents your opinion. Programming refers to all DTC programs and services, including treatment. [Q4]

a. Adequately tailors programming, considering the age of participants

b. Adequately tailors programming and treatment, considering participants' gender

c. Provides programming designed to meet the needs of Aboriginal men and women

d. Provides programming designed to meet the needs of other visible minorities

e. Provides programming designed to meet the needs of new immigrants

f. Adequately considers participants' specific mental health needs in developing treatment response

g. Adequately considers participants' physical health needs in developing treatment response

16. Please explain how your DTC could better serve the needs of its target population(s): [Q4]

17. Do you have any other suggestions for how the design and/or operation of the DTC could be improved? [Q4]

Information sharing and performance measurement

18. Have you accessed or participated in any DTC-related educational/promotional resources or activities (e.g., DTC websites, DTC presentations or training events, Department of Justice research reports)? [Q8]

19. If yes to Q18: Please rate the usefulness of any of the following educational/promotional resources or activities that you have used or in which you have participated. [Q8]

a. DTC websites

b. Department of Justice research reports

c. DTC police training

d. DTC presentations

e. Information sheets placed in potential DTC participants' files

f. Other (please specify:)

20. How effectively are the lessons learned and best practices from the various DTC models used in Canada being communicated and shared among the DTCs? [Q8, 9]

21. Are you involved in reporting to Justice Canada using the Drug Treatment Court Information System (DTCIS)? [Q7]

If yes: How would you describe the reasonableness of the DTCIS reporting requirements?

If answered somewhat unreasonable or very unreasonable (1 or 2): Please explain:

22. Do you access or use information captured by the DTCIS in any way? [Q7]

23. If yes (1) to question 21 and/or 22: How effective is the DTCIS in supporting the DTCs? [Q7]

24. If yes to question 21 and/or 22: Please read each statement below regarding the DTCIS and check the response that best represents your opinion. [Q7]

The DTCIS…

a. Captures necessary qualitative information for case management

b. Adequately captures the work of the DTCs

c. Provides helpful statistics for case management and/or operations of DTCs

25. If yes to question 21 and/or 22: In what way(s), if any, could the DTCIS be improved? [Q7]

Effectiveness of the DTCs and DTCFP

26. Please assess the effectiveness of your DTC in the following areas. [Q8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18]

Community engagement

a. Strengthening the network to address drug use in the community

b. Increasing the engagement of other community organizations to address drug use

c. Building partnerships with other community organizations

Participant supports

d. Making appropriate referrals for their participants

e. Retaining participants in the DTC program

f. Encouraging participants to comply with DTC conditions

g. Reducing participant drug use while in the program

h. Reducing participant drug use among those who left or were discharged from the program prior to graduation

i. Reducing participant drug use among program graduates

j. Improving the social stability of participants (e.g., employment, education, and/or housing status)

k. Reducing criminal recidivism while in the program

l. Reducing criminal recidivism among those who left or were discharged from the program prior to graduation

m. Reducing criminal recidivism among program graduates

DTC practices

n. Sharing best practices and lessons learned among DTCs

o. Adopting evidence-based best practices

p. Using criminal justice and treatment service resources efficiently

27. The tables below list a number of DTC goals. Please consider each of these goals and, in the boxes provided, list any factors that make it more likely for these goals to be achieved (i.e., factors contributing to success). [Q9, 10, 11, 17, 18]

a. Retaining participants in the program (i.e., high graduation rates)

b. Encouraging participants' compliance with DTC conditions (e.g., court appearances, treatment sessions, urine tests)

c. Reducing participants' criminal recidivism while in the program

d. Reducing participants' criminal recidivism post-program

e. Reducing participants' drug use while in the program

f. Reducing participants' drug use post-program

28. Please consider each of the DTC goals listed in the table below and, in the boxes provided, list any factors that make it less likely for these goals to be achieved (i.e., factors impeding progress). [Q9, 10, 11, 17, 18]

a. Retaining participants in the program (i.e., high graduation rates)

b. Encouraging participants' compliance with DTC conditions (e.g., court appearances, treatment sessions, urine tests)

c. Reducing participants' criminal recidivism while in the program

d. Reducing participants' criminal recidivism post-program

e. Reducing participants' drug use while in the program

f. Reducing participants' drug use post-program

29. For those who answered 01 or 02 to question 2 and are either DTC director, treatment provider, case manager or external addictions treatment provider): How do you ensure that treatment is appropriate for participants’ needs? (In your response, please consider factors such as: how individuals’ abilities and learning styles, mental health issues, gender, and/or cultural or immigration status are accounted for in the development of treatment plans, and whether/how the Risk-Need-Responsibility (RNR) model is used as a service model in the DTC). [Q4]

30. Please describe any unmet needs of participants or gaps in services that you think your DTC should address? [Q4, 22]

Drug Treatment Courts’ efficiency and economy

31. For those who answered 01 to question 2: To what type(s) of criminal justice and treatment programs and services have you referred clients? (Check all that apply) [Q12]

32. For those who answered 01 or 04 to question 2: Please indicate the type of partnership(s), if any, that your DTC has with service providers in the following areas: [Q12, 14, 22]

a. Addictions treatment

b. Mental health programs/services

c. Other health programs/services

d. Employment programs/services

e. Housing services

f. Educational programs/services

g. Police services

h. Aboriginal services (e.g., services that target Aboriginal peoples, services provided in appropriate languages)

i. Services specifically targeting the needs of women

j. Other (please specify:)

33. For those who answered 01 or 04 to question 2: What processes, if any, have you used to ensure that court and treatment resources are used efficiently to address the needs of DTC participants? (Check all that apply) [Q22]

34. Do you have any suggestions regarding how/whether DTCs can use criminal justice and/or treatment resources more efficiently to address the needs of DTC participants? [Q22]

If yes: Please explain:

Relevance of the Drug Treatment Courts and the Drug Treatment Court Funding Program

35. What do you feel are the unique needs of the DTC client group (i.e., those who are eligible to participate in a DTC) relative to other offenders? [Q1]

36. Please rate how effectively you feel that DTCs and the traditional justice system address the unique needs of the DTC client group. [Q23]

In terms of meeting the unique needs of the DTC target population…

a. DTCs are

b. The traditional justice system is

37. In your opinion, is there an ongoing need for the DTCFP? [Q1]

38. If the DTCFP ended, how might that affect the development of DTCs in Canada? [Q1, 22]

Conclusions

39. What are your DTC’s best practices or lessons learned that you would want to share with other DTCs? [Q19]

40. Please use the following space to describe any other suggestions for how the DTCFP or the DTCs could be improved.

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey.