Corrections_Today_January_February_2023_Vol.85_No.1

■ R ESEARCH

Benefits of the Program In several interview questions, participants were asked to explain the benefits of being involved in the program. The first theme that emerged from this set of survey questions was self-awareness. It appeared partici pants reflected on their situations after hearing about the experiences and challenges of other inmates. Stakeholders identified the benefits of receiving peer support as sup ported by the statements below: – “ Hearing other stories and learning how to cope with my addiction.” – “ Confidence, mental well-being.” – “ Able to recognize and prepare for relapse and triggers.” Participants’ responses identified some of the problems or challenges associated with their PSS experience. The primary theme centered on staff-related issues. Most re sponses focused on how the shortage of staff contributed to inconsistent program delivery and a sense of disen gagement of security officers. Statements supporting this theme consisted of: – “ Security employees not taking the program seriously.” – “ Inconsistent class time due to lack of staff.” – “ Not being sure who to contact for help.” – “ Not enough time for the group due to staff shortages.” – “ Inconsistent staff being assigned to the unit.” Connectivity to Services Various interview questions inquired whether par ticipants were connected to aftercare services and /or recovery support services. The theme arising from this set of questions was the positive impact and recovery capital participants are experiencing as a result of being involved with aftercare services. The responses supporting this theme included: – “ I have already reached out to services on the outside.” – “ I now have many connections that I did not have before.” – “ I am connected with aftercare services.” – “ Finding myself after being drug-free.” – “ I can stay sober longer than a year.” Problems of the Program

by providing feedback and viewpoints from the actual participants who received the services. The second data source was recidivism data based on a report from the South Carolina Department of Corrections database of participants who have been in the community for a mini mum of six months beginning April 2019 to the present. 80 of these individuals received a Vivitrol injection while at the South Carolina Department of Corrections in addi tion to PSS. 54 responded; they are the target population and focus of the data analysis. The data analysis consisted of categorizing and coding to identify common themes and lessons learned from the 54 respondents. Data were organized by using affinity diagrams, which served as a visual aid for grouping large volumes of ideas, issues and observations into distinct categories. Data was then separated and arranged in meaningful sections identified as affinity sets and later organized in terms of relationships, which will be further explained in the data analysis section. Data analysis Information for this project was retrieved from survey results from 54 participants who were released from the South Carolina Department of Corrections for at least six months. While incarcerated, each participant received PSS and one Vivitrol injection. Additionally, recidivism data from SCDC was reviewed for this same cohort of individ uals to determine if any participants re-offended during the study timeframe. Each participant completed a 14-ques tion survey. Raw data gathered from surveys were coded for general themes about participants’ post-incarceration experience after receiving peer support services and MAT. Survey data The survey served as a data collection process that also provided feedback on the research process. It pro vided the client’s perspective on services received by an organization including attitudes, perceptions, opinions and concerns regarding overall effectiveness (Stringer, 2014). This approach was utilized to capture data from participants receiving PSS. Responses to the 14 survey questions were separated into four categories: benefits, problems, connectivity in the community after receiv ing PSS and continued drug use resulting in reoffending activities since being released to the community.

32 — January/February 2023 Corrections Today