The purpose of this study is to quantify the impact of the Nelsonville Mayor’s Court Diversion Program on participants’ program completion, dismissal of criminal charges, and rate of recidivism over a three year period compared with three year statistics prior to the program. The program utilized intervention strategies including Brief Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing Techniques, Cognitive-Behavioral Skills Training and Life Style Management Strategies for mandated alcohol or drug- related misdemeanor offenders in the college and host community.
Students and community members who became involved with the Mayor’s Court for alcohol or drug-related offenses were mandated to a 10-week diversion program consisting of 13 hours of educational and therapeutic intervention. Data was collected on participants’ rates of program completion, dismissal of criminal charges, and rate of recidivism for three years and were compared with arrest and recidivism data from the court records for the three years prior to the initiation of the program. A chi square test for comparison was utilized with the collapsed years of 2000-2002 and 2003-2005 to test the program’s effectiveness. Assessment instruments including the MAST, CAGE and AUDIT were evaluated to determine if the severity of alcohol abuse, as measured by these instruments, had any relationship to participant outcomes.
Data for a three year period prior to the program’s initiation was compared to data for a three year period while the program was operational. Results indicated a 5% reduction in the number of arrests during the three year period the program was in operation. There was an overall 60% participant completion rate and the number of criminal charges that were dismissed increased by 93% for program completers. The number of repeat offenders was reduced by 40% for the three year period of the program’s operation.The Nelsonville Mayor’s Court Diversion Program was proven to be statistically significance in reducing arrests, reducing recidivism, and getting participants’ charges dismissed during the three years of operation in comparison to the three years prior to its existence.
In conclusion, the total eradication of alcohol abuse on college campuses is not realistic. However, mandated intervention programs that utilize effective treatment modalities that address educational and life style management approaches may be effective in defining positive outcomes for individuals who participate in these programs. Seven recommendations for addressing the problem of the culture of alcohol abuse on college campuses and host communities are identified.