An Examination of Prison-Based Programming and Recommitment to Prison

Abstract

Policy makers and correctional leaders continue to rely on research to identify how best to improve the outcomes of incarcerated populations. Prison-based programming is one way to address the needs of individuals and improve public safety. We draw from research on correctional programming to examine the impact of different types of correctional programs on returns to prison. Administrative panel data from the Arizona Department of Corrections Rehabilitation and Reentry is used to estimate the impact of cognitive thinking, substance abuse treatment, and education-based programs on reincarceration outcomes. To account for observable selection bias, we use propensity score matching to create comparable treatment and comparison groups. In addition, we use survival curves to compare three-year reincarceration survival rates of individuals in the treatment and comparison groups. Findings indicate that program participants have lower reincarceration rates than program non-participants. Further, correctional program completion plays an important role in this process, as program completers exhibit consistently lower predicted reincarceration rates compared to program non-completers. In addition, the survival curves show that program non-completers maintain highest reincarceration risk than program completers. We discuss the implications for studies of recidivism and for correctional programming.