DRUG TREATMENT KEY FOR FEMALE INMATES: STUDY

Female prisoners who don't take drug treatment after their release
from jail are 10 times more likely to end up back in the slammer
within a year of getting out, a study shows.

The study - published in the American Journal of Public Health -
looked at 361 female inmates at six federal Canadian prisons.

Following their release, 56 of the women spent two hours each week
participating in a two-hour community relapse prevention program.

Of the 305 women who did not participate in the treatment program, 115
ended up back in custody within a year of their release.

Of the 56 women who participated in community treatment, only three
found themselves back behind bars within their first year of freedom.

"This shows how this program can work and lead to success for women.
We don't want them being recycled back into prison," said Flora
Matheson, a medical sociologist at St. Michael's Hospital.

Cocaine and crack cocaine were the most commonly used drugs by the
women who particpated in the drug treatment program.

"We don't want these women re-offending, we want them to remain in the
community and be successful," Matheson said.

Matheson said that when compared to non-drug users, offenders who
abuse naroctics are twice as likely to have unstable housing in the
community, are less able to manage stress well and are hospitalized
more often for mental health issues.

About 90% of female prisoners experience physical, sexual, domestic or
childhood abuse.

"Once they're released and enter the same community with the same
situations they faced when they had left, it's easy to fall back into
bad habits," said Matheson. "That's why it's so important they
participate in the treatment programs which give them a chance to
re-establish their abilities and use what they've learned in prison
without outside pressures."