AIDS/HIV Education in Lockups and Booking Facilities
Under a cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Justice and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Abt Associates developed and tested experimentally a model AIDS/HIV prevention strategy for drug-involved arrestees. The model strategy involved the production of a videotape specifically designed to motivate drug-involved arrestees to reduce AIDS risk behavior, and to enter drug treatment. The experiment tested the added impact of different intensities of case management, focused on referral to drug treatment, HIV prevention counseling and education, and other services. Using structured baseline and follow-up instruments covering AIDS and drug-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, Abt Associates evaluated the effectiveness of the model approach by examining attitudes and behavior change in three groups assigned at random to: 1) those receiving only the videotape and referral information; 2) those receiving the video, referral information, and a brief face-to-face counseling session; and 3) those receiving the video, referral information, and six months of intensive case management services. The case management intervention was determined to reduce criminal recidivism and the proportion of participants involved in heavy drug use during the six month follow-up period.