Date of Conferral
2022
Degree
Doctor of Public Administration (D.P.A)
School
Criminal Justice
Advisor
Richard Worch
Abstract
In 2003, a midwestern state passed legislation implementing a program with the goal of treating nonviolent felony offenders leaving prison sentences for more severe crimes. The current study examined legislation focusing on substance abuse treatment rather than incarceration. The purpose of this was to bridge this gap in knowledge by investigating the legislative session’s actions to aid members in the provision of services related to the Senate Bill 123 program. The central research question of this study examined the experiences of healthcare practitioners and addiction counselors associated with SB 123 nonviolent adult offenders requiring drug and alcohol treatment concerning Suboxone treatment regimens. The theoretical framework for this study was Mohr’s program theory, which served as the interpretive lens to explore the experiences of healthcare practitioners and addiction counselors associated with SB 123 nonviolent offenders remanded to felony probation concerning Suboxone treatment regimens. Thematic coding and information syntheses were used in this qualitative case study design to integrate the findings about addiction counselors’ and health care practitioners’ perspectives on treatment success in nonviolent felony offenders. Results indicated that lack of training, too high federal statutes and regulations in the state, and not utilizing historical data when collaborating with stakeholders. Participants expressed a statistically higher success rate among clients coming off opioids if they were prescribed Suboxone, versus those who are not because of the terrible withdrawals and cravings. The implications for positive social change will focus on continual program improvements such as contemporary criminal correction approaches attempting to rehabilitate nonviolent felony offenders under the SB 123 program back into their communities.
Recommended Citation
Scott, Jessica, "A Case Study of Senate Bill 123 Nonviolent Felony Offenders Suboxone Use" (2022). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 12550.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/12550
