3. Evaluations of Narconon® Residential Programs:

Survey of Program Results

The Narconon program has been delivering services to non-incarcerated populations since 1972. Currently, the majority of the Narconon programs deliver drug rehabilitation services to the public in residential facilities. The main criteria tracked in surveys have been the number of clients off drugs, involvement with the criminal justice system, and employment status. The results of several surveys of Narconon program clients are shown in Table III.

TABLE III
Evaluations of the Narconon® Program, Delivered to Public Populations

* Contacted the Narconon program, but did not start program.

The Connecticut survey was done shortly after program completion, the West Berlin study 7 months after graduation and the Boston study shortly after program completion.

In each of these surveys, the majority of the Narconon program graduates were no longer using drugs. Where monitored, their involvement with the criminal justice system had lessened and their employment improved. None earned money from crime after.

The Narconon program appears beneficial in both reducing drug abuse and reducing involvement with crime.

Therapeutic Evaluation:

These results align with an independent study of the Narconon facilities done in Spain in 1985. In this study, an independent sociology group called Teenicos Asociados de Investigacion y Marketing (TAIM) evaluated the Narconon program. TAIM had also done studies on drug issues for the Ministry of Health, the Social Services Department of the Town Hall of Madrid, and the National Institute of Social Services of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security of Spain.

The Spanish study showed that 78.4 percent of the people who completed the Narconon program remained off drugs. Overall, 69.2 percent of the people contacted (including those who had not graduated) were still off drugs.

TAIM Study: Drug Use and Crime of Clients
Figure 2: TAIM Study - Change in Drug Use and Involvement with Crime after Graduation.

Crime:

The Narconon program also had a profound effect on the criminal activities of clients. Before doing the Narconon program, 62.2 percent of the participants admitted having committed robberies and 73 percent had been dealing drugs. Only 10.8 percent of the participants did not previously engage in criminal activity. The study revealed that no criminal activities were reported by any of the Narconon program graduates after graduation.

Regarding relationships with their families, 67.6 percent of Narconon program graduates said that their family situation was now much better, 29.7 percent said that it had changed for the better and only 2.7 percent said that it was the same. No one stated that it had changed for the worse.

Evaluation of Recent Narconon® Program Graduates.:

Narconon program clients generally take from three to five months to complete the program, though some take significantly longer and a few have completed the program in two months. Each step is designed to address an area that virtually all substance abusers need to improve. The order of components is carefully laid out to utilize prior tools and prepare the student for the next step. The ideal situation is that every Narconon program client completes the full program.

Narconon International: Clients Treated/Program Graduates

Figure 3: Portion of clients completing the program. Figure shows the total number of clients for the years 1998 through 1992 along with the total number graduating from the program in these years.

The percentage of program completions is therefore an important measure of the success of this program. The number of clients completing the program internationally in 1990 was 789 (39% of starts), in 1991 was 1,019 (51% of starts) and in 1992 was 1,084 (56% of starts). (see Figure 3)