Linking women in jail to community services: factors associated with rearrest and retention of drug-using women following release from jail.

Women in jail experience high rates of many health and social problems. This study examined the effects of preexisting social and health characteristics and the type of services received on retention in community aftercare for 193 drug-using women released from the New York City jail to two low-income communities. Rearrest rates for program participants were compared to a group of women not eligible for services because of their residence outside the target communities. Women who enrolled in residential programs with on-site drug treatment and other social services after release were compared to women who enrolled in less comprehensive services. The residential treatment group participated in the program significantly longer (276 v 180 days, p = .02) than women in other types of services. Women in residential programs were significantly more likely to have used crack or cocaine in the 30 days prior to arrest than women in other types of programs (84% v 59%, p = .001), but few other prior differences among the different treatment groups were noted. Therefore, differences in outcome are unlikely to be attributed to preexisting differences in risk profile. Women who participated in postrelease services were significantly less likely to be rearrested in the year after release than a comparable group of women who participated in jail services, but were not eligible for postrelease services (38% v 59%, p = .02).