Dual-diagnosed female offenders (DDFOs) present direct care providers with complex psychosocial needs and challenges that result in a serious lack of motivation to attain, sustain, and continue treatment after release from prison. Unsuccessful treatment of DDFOs represents a significant public health and safety risk including continuing criminal acts, increased health care costs, accidents related to substance abuse, and poor reintegration. Through in-depth semistructured interviews with direct care providers, this phenomenological study's focus was on examining the motivational facilitators associated with treatment adherence, barriers to treatment adherence, and approaches for enhancing treatment motivation. Nine major themes emerged from this research, including the importance of an empathetic approach and a strong therapeutic alliance as motivational facilitators; lack of insight and acceptance of the need for treatment, lack of resiliency, and the role of external system factors in barriers to treatment adherence; and using an empathetic approach, building rapport, instilling hope, and avoiding confrontation as approaches for enhancing treatment motivation. These findings may inform theory and practice related to the treatment of DDFOs in U.S. prisons. These findings contribute to social change by identifying outcomes related to treatment attendance, continuity of care, and completion and may help reduce recidivism associated with DDFOs, decrease costs of care, and lower public risks such as accidents related to substance use. The study provides reference points that may inform recommendations to state correctional departments regarding effective programming strategies for DDFOs.

The Virginia Department of Corrections mandates that all offenders without a high school diploma or general equivalency diploma (GED) are required to be enrolled in GED programs offered in the prison system. However, these programs have shown varying rates of success. Supported by the constructivist theory, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify how correctional education staff members perceived the effectiveness of the GED programs. Data from surveys and interviews with 9 educational correctional staff members were collected and analyzed for themes. Findings indicated that (a) participants use computer software for effective instruction, (b) offenders who were enrolled in correctional education programs successfully reenter society after being released from incarceration, and (c) offenders' self-efficacy is related to GED instruction. Findings may be used to improve GED programs to support offenders in obtaining a GED and training to promote social justice by returning to their communities more prepared to obtain jobs and contribute to the global economy.