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Study Findings: Family Support Reduces Drug Use When a random sample of those recently released from prison for drug offenses was interviewed twice, six months apart, 27 percent of the control group members said they had used cocaine regularly within 30 days of the first interview. This rate dropped to 21 percent six months later. By comparison, the initial rate of cocaine use for a sample of La Bodega clients was much higher – 42 percent. But it dropped to just 10 percent six months later. Survey results for heroine abuse also show significantly lower rates among La Bodega clients: the percentage of heroine abuse in the control group dropped from 35 percent to 27 percent over six months. The initial percentage of heroine users in the La Bodega sample was higher – 40 percent – but it dropped further, to 22 percent, six months later. When abuse of all illegal substances, including marijuana, was included in the survey, the percentage of substance abuse in the control group dropped from 66 percent to 55 percent over six months. The rate for La Bodega clients started at a much higher rate of 82 percent, and dropped to 48 percent within six months. "The thing we find interesting is that the declines in substance abuse don't come from any increase in drug treatment for the La Bodega participants," said Eileen Sullivan, research director of the Vera Institute of Justice. She noted there was no significant increase in drug treatment program participation by La Bodega survey participants during the six-month survey period, nor was there a significant difference in the rate of drug treatment participation between the La Bodega and the control group. "There certainly is a greater reduction in drug abuse [amongst La Bodega clients] than occurs in drug treatment programs in general," Sullivan said. Data from in-depth interviews with La Bodega participants supports the hypothesis that family members' participation was responsible for offenders' reduced drug use rather than drug treatment programs, she said. When surveyed, two-thirds of family members entering La Bodega's support programs said they had unmet needs for medical, social service or mental health services. By the second interview, only 9 percent of family members had unmet needs, indicating that La Bodega was supporting family members and helped resolve their underlying needs. At the same time, when offenders were asked whether there were people in their lives who provided information, companionship, and emotional and material support, the La Bodega participants' scores improved after six months – but they declined for the control group. For those showing a reduction in drug abuse, the rate of arrest and return to prison was cut by half for the La Bodega group. Twenty-one percent of the control group was arrested during the six months between interviews, compared to 11 percent of the La Bodega group. Sixteen percent of the control group were then convicted and returned to prison, compared to 9 percent of the La Bodega group.

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Lessons from Boot Camp

The notion that families are a powerful, untapped resource first occurred to Shapiro when she served two years as Assistant Commissioner of the New York City Department of Correction. Shapiro was responsible for the management and operation of all alternative sentencing programs and correctional operations for the nation's largest urban jail system, including electronic monitoring, work release, drug education and treatment, and boot camps.

"It was boot camps that actually started to create this idea," she said. The boot camps provided drug-related programs while subjecting 100 women, 200 men, and 100 adolescents to intense, military-style drilling and discipline. "I don't know if you've ever been to a boot camp," Shapiro adds, grinning, "I could do great cadence."

Boot camp inmates on Rikers Island