Targeting the distinctive treatment needs of female offenders should yield a more effective approach to reducing criminal recidivism and related problem behaviors such as substance abuse. In a 1999 report examining the three largest correctional systems in the U.S. for female offenders - the BOP, the California Department of Corrections and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice - the General Accounting Office noted that only the BOP had a policy requiring the consideration of gender-specific treatment needs.