CARAT (Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Throughcare) schemes have been operational in prisons throughout England and Wales for three and a half years, designed to increase the support available to drug-using prisoners both during custody and on release. Specifically the CARAT service has a remit to 'bridge the gap' between custody and the community. However, to date there have been few attempts to evaluate schemes or the impact on throughcare provision. This article reports on research conducted by the authors on behalf of Blackburn with Darwen (an area in the North West of England) Drug Action Team, to evaluate the efficacy of throughcare arrangements for drug users (or former drug users) leaving prison and returning to a specific locality, in recognition of both the potential contribution of CARAT schemes and the likelihood of problems having arisen from the creation of a new service and evolving service arrangements.