Problems and service needs among ex-offenders with HIV risk behaviors entering sober living recovery homes

There is currently a nationwide effort to decrease the number of persons who are incarcerated in jails and prisons. However, many ex-offenders on probation or parole do not have access to affordable housing and larger proportions have histories of HIV risk as well as substance abuse problems. In California, sober living houses (SLHs) are becoming an increasingly popular housing option for these individuals. Based largely on the principles of alcoholics anonymous, SLHs require abstinence from alcohol and drugs and provide peer support for recovery. The current study examined the types of problems experienced among 330 ex-offenders with lifetime risk for HIV during the six months prior to entering SLHs. Nearly three fourths (74%) of all ex-offenders entering the houses had at least one HIV risk. The importance of housing was evident in the finding that housing status and participants’ perceptions of their housing situation were associated with a variety of problem areas, including substance use, HIV risk, psychiatric severity, and legal problems. SLHs represent an important housing option for ex-offenders, but many residents may need additional services to address various problems.     

Breathalyzer accuracy in actual law enforcement practice: a comparison of blood- and breath-alcohol results in Wisconsin drivers

Breathalyzer and blood-alcohol results from drivers arrested for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and for related offenses were compared during a two-year period. Four hundred and four pairs of breath- and blood-alcohol results from specimens collected within 1 h of each other were studied. Blood-alcohol concentrations ranged from zero to 0.421% weight per volume (w/v). Breath-alcohol concentrations ranged from zero to 0.44 g/210 L. The mean Breathalyzer result was 0.16 g/210 L. The mean blood-alcohol result was 0.176% w/v. Compared to the blood-alcohol result, Breathalyzer results were lower by more than 0.01 g/210 L 61% of the time, within 0.01 g/210 L 33% of the time, and higher by more than 0.01 g/210 L 6% of the time.     

The Evolution of Substate Nationalist Parties as Statewide Parliamentary Actors: CiU and PNV in Spain

This contribution examines party competition between the Catalan Convergence and Union (CiU) and the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), two substate nationalist parties, and the statewide governing party based on the degree to which they ally in Spain's statewide parliament. It demonstrates that party competition during statewide minority governments is quite cooperative, though with variation, and statewide majority governments are associated with less cooperation. The weight of properiphery stances in the nationalist parties’ manifestos does not explain the patterns of party competition. In part, their behavior is associated with opportunities to influence policy and interparty competition in their respective regions.