Ends Never Meet: New Jersey Drug Court Program

New Jersey has the highest proportion of prisoners incarcerated for drug offenses in the country, 36% compared to the national average of 20%. Statistics indicate Hispanics and African Americans are most affected, accounting for 90% of adult drug offenders in the New Jersey prison system. Nonviolent drug offenders in New Jersey are eligible to enroll in a five-year drug court substance abuse program that consists of 4 progressive phases of treatment in lieu of incarceration. This quantitative study employed a convenience sample of 33 nonviolent drug offenders enrolled in a New Jersey Drug Court program. Findings from this research indicated no significant mean differences in coping self-efficacy for nonviolent drug offenders at different phase levels of treatment. This research was a critical contribution to the literature and informs social change efforts in substance abuse program development and education toward decreasing the adverse consequences of drug abuse on legal systems and the overall economy, and toward improving the quality of lives of individuals, families, and communities.