Program Profile: Community Reporting Engagement Support and Training (CREST)

This is an enhanced day reporting center designed to reduce the risk of recidivism in people on probation with mental illnesses. It provides services such as substance abuse treatment and crisis intervention. The program is rated Promising. Treatment group individuals had a statistically significantly lower risk of conviction for any offense, compared with control group participants on standard probation. However, there was no statistically significant effect on the risk of conviction for a felo

A Promising rating implies that implementing the program may result in the intended outcome(s).

A Promising rating implies that implementing the program may result in the intended outcome(s).

Program Goals/Target Population

The Community Reporting Engagement Support and Training (CREST) Center is as an enhanced day reporting center (DRC) in New Haven, Conn. A DRC is a type of intermediate sanction in the community that requires people on probation or parole to report to a physical location on a regular basis to participate in various rehabilitation-related activities. The aim of DRCs is to limit the number of people in jails and prisons while still providing services to them.

Though DRCs can serve any justice-involved population, CREST specifically serves individuals with severe mental illnesses. The goal of CREST is to reduce participants’ risk of recidivism and reincarceration.

Services Provided

Participants are first referred to CREST by a variety of criminal justice agencies, including probation, parole, and forensic diversion programs. Following an intake process to determine an individual’s specific criminogenic and clinical needs, a weekly schedule and expected length of stay are established (a general guideline is 180 days of attendance). Services provided by CREST include medication monitoring and education, vocational counseling, housing assistance, substance use education and screening, cognitive skills training, daily living skills training, transportation services, and crisis intervention.

Interventions such as Illness Management and Recovery and Thinking for a Change (TFC) are implemented to specifically target treatment compliance and criminal recidivism. Illness Management and Recovery teaches illness self-management, increased social support, and coping skills to deal with persistent symptoms, while TFC is a cognitive–behavioral intervention designed to improve interpersonal problem-solving skills (more information on TFC can be found on CrimeSolutions at https://crimesolutions.ojp.gov/ratedprograms/242). Additional psychiatric treatment is provided to CREST clients by staff at a partnering community mental health clinic.

Study

Carr, Baker, and Cassidy (2016) conducted a quasi-experimental study to examine the effectiveness of the Community Reporting Engagement Support and Training (CREST) enhanced day reporting center (DRC) in New Haven, Conn., on recidivism outcomes of probationers with mental illness. The treatment group consisted of all CREST clients on probation who were admitted and discharged between July 1, 2007, and July 1, 2012 (n = 188). The control group consisted of all individuals on probation in the same geographical district as the treatment group between Jan. 1, 2006, and Jan. 1, 2009. To be eligible for inclusion in the control group, probationers had to have never been referred to CREST and have a mental illness (measured by a score of 15 or above on the Adult Substance Use Survey–Revised [ASUS–R]) Mood Disruptions scale. This resulted in a control group of 425 individuals.

The average age of the treatment group was 35.7 years old, and the participants were mostly male (82 percent). More than half of the treatment group was Black (59 percent), 23 percent were White, 15 percent were Hispanic, and 3 percent had race/ethnicity that was not disclosed. The primary diagnosis was of a psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia (60 percent), followed by bipolar disorder (18 percent). Most treatment group participants (78 percent) were diagnosed with a comorbid substance use disorder in addition to their psychiatric diagnoses and were previously convicted of a felony offense (87 percent). The average age of the control group was 33.6 years, and the participants were mostly male (65 percent). Of the control group, 44 percent were Black, 31 percent were White, and 25 percent were Hispanic. Most participants in the control group were previously convicted of a felony (81 percent). Because the control group data were pulled from state probation records, clinical data (such as mental illness diagnosis) were not available.

Propensity score matching was conducted to control for differences between the treatment and control groups in gender, age, race, ASUS–R Mood score, and previous convictions. Because the original control group was larger than the treatment group, a 1:2 match ratio was set (i.e., two control group participants were matched to each treatment group participant). After accounting for missing data, the propensity score matching resulted in a final sample of 81 participants in the treatment group and 146 participants in the control group (n = 227). There were no statistically significant differences between the treatment and control groups on baseline characteristics.

Outcomes of interest included any new conviction and new felony conviction following admission to CREST (for the treatment group) or probation supervision (for the control group). Data were collected from the state probation department records. Owing to the varying length of follow-up periods, a time-to-event Cox proportional hazard regression was performed using time to any conviction and time to a felony conviction as dependent measures, and CREST status as the independent variable. Subgroup analyses were conducted to examine the impact completion of the program made on treatment group participants.

Additional information on the Community Reporting Engagement Support and Training (CREST) Center can be found at the program’s website.

Subgroup Analysis

Carr, Baker, and Cassidy (2016) conducted subgroup analyses to examine the impact that completion of the Community Reporting Engagement Support and Training (CREST) enhanced day reporting center made on treatment group participants. Completion of the program was defined as the client having met the treatment goals in the initial intake plan. There were no statistically significant differences between treatment group completers and noncompleters in any conviction or felony conviction following program discharge.

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

Carr, W. Amory, and James J. Cassidy. 2016. “Treatment Attrition of Probationers With Mental Illness From an Enhanced Day Reporting Center.” International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 60(6):694–707.

Following are CrimeSolutions-rated programs that are related to this practice:

Day Reporting Centers

This practice uses day reporting centers, which are nonresidential multiservice centers, to facilitate parolees’ reintegration back into the community through a combination of services and supervision. This practice is rated Ineffective for reducing criminal recidivism among adults who have been convicted of an offense.

Evidence Ratings for Outcomes

Crime & Delinquency - Multiple crime/offense types

Why might a practice's outcome ratings differ from the ratings of specific programs encompassed by that practice?