Assessing the Impact of Unit Management Programs on Institutional Misconduct and Prison “Returns”

Abstract

Evidence that prison programs reduce the odds of post-release recidivism is mixed, perhaps due to barriers to rigorous analyses of program effects. We attempted to overcome some of these barriers in an analysis of whether inmates in specific unit management programs in Ohio prisons were less likely to return to prison within three years after release compared to matched groups of inmates who were eligible and wait-listed for the same programs but never participated in these or any other reentry approved programs. Group differences in prison rule violation rates were also examined given the extant link between inmate misconduct and recidivism. Results indicated that some but not all seven programs were successful at reducing the odds of misconduct (violence, in particular) and/or return-to-prison, with additional differences in the magnitude of these effects across “successful” programs. Common attributes of the more successful programs are identified and discussed.