Post-release Outcomes Research Articles

FEDERAL PRISON RESIDENTIAL DRUG TREATMENT REDUCES SUBSTANCE USE AND ARRESTS AFTER RELEASE*

Objective: The effectiveness of federal prison-based residential drug and alcohol treatment programs was evaluated using event history procedures that addressed the problem of selection bias and included a wide range of control variables. Methods: The sample comprised 760 treatment subjects and 809 comparison subjects. Treatment subjects were from 20 different prisons of medium, low, and minimum security levels. Comparison subjects were drawn from over 30 prisons. Results: The results indicated that individuals who entered and completed in-prison residential treatment were less likely to experience the critical postrelease outcomes of new arrests and substance use during the first 6 months following release. Conclusions: Without controlling for selection bias, the effects of treatment would most likely have been attenuated. The results have greater generalizability than other studies of prison-based treatment. This study occurred within a multisite context of 20 programs serving both male and female inmates and operating within different security levels and different geographic regions.

Incarcerated women: I. A comparison of college and noncollege inmates.

Whether inmates who participate in college programs have better postrelease outcomes than those who do not participate is controversial, with opponents of college prison programs suggesting that college programs' successes are due to selectivity. 150 women in a state prison, including 61 women in a college program and 89 women sampled from the general population, were compared. Only 7 of 34 variables significantly differentiated the two groups. The percentage of women who had used marijuana, rates of mothers' arrests, length of time served, rates of physical abuse, participation in vocational programs, and percent incarcerated for violent offences were higher among the women in the college program, who were more likely to be first-time offenders.

Assessment of Criminogenic Factors, Program Assignment, and Recidivism

A sample of 107 federally incarcerated male offenders in Canada was followed to examine the outcome of a classification approach, Case Management Strategies. Cases were tracked from point of reception to 6- and 18-month postrelease to assess how criminogenic factors were matched to programs, whether and how these program recommendations were acted on, and whether completion of appropriate programming affected postrelease outcome. The results largely failed to support the efficacy of this case management and program assignment process in classifying offenders to correctional programs as part of the rehabilitation process. Only about half of the program assignments were judged appropriate in targeting criminogenic factors. Only a small proportion of the recommended programs actually were completed by the offenders. Finally, the completion of program interventions, based on appropriate targeting of criminogenic factors, was unrelated to postrelease outcome after 6- and 18-month follow-ups.

Prison College Programs

Administrators who opt to provide education programs in prison are faced with the need to structure programs that span primary, secondary, and postsecondary levels. There seems to be consensus in the United States that prison education programs can properly include literacy, vocational education, and life-skill programs. However, this agreement doesn't extend to college programs. Prison college programs have a long history in the United States but their acceptability has ebbed and flowed over the years. Support of college programs in prison peaked in the 1960s and 70s, but became less popular in the 1980s and 90s. These programs depend, to a large extent, on federal tuition assistance. Amendments to federal legislation are offered almost annually, to exclude all prisoners from any college tuition assistance entitlement. These efforts have been unsuccessful, to date, but they reflect a section of public opinion which remains critical of tax supported grants to pay for prison college programs. Do inmate education programs reduce recidivism? Although some argue that it is not reasonable to correlate postrelease outcomes with any one prison program or situation, legislators and the public focus on recidivism and its correlation to specific programs. A significant body of research has developed in recent years that demonstrates a positive correlation between higher education and postrelease success. Despite this, currently, at least in the United States, college programs continue to be the most vulnerable of all prison education programs. If research data continue to show that these programs are cost effective and impact recidivism in positive ways, the situation may stabilize.

Monitoring Family System Functioning, Family, and Adolescent Coping in the Context of Residential Treatment

The basic research value of an agency-based information system is a function of its ability to examine and test social science theories, propositions, and hypotheses. This paper employs BOMIS data to test a set of hypotheses regarding the effects of youth coping patterns and family system types on successful program completion and post-release outcomes. The findings have implications for treatment change as well as for family and adolescent development research.

The Effectiveness of In-Jail Methadone Maintenance

Process and outcome evaluation results are reported for a unique in-jail methadone maintenance program in New York City with three thousand admissions annually. The main study examined inmates who were not enrolled in methadone at arrest. Eighty percent were drug injectors (usually both heroin and cocaine) who admitted committing an average of 117 property crimes and nineteen violent crimes in the six months before jail. Methadone program participants' post-release outcomes were compared with outcomes for similar addicts who received seven-day heroin detoxification in jail. Multivariate analyses indicated that program participants were more likely than controls to apply for methadone or other drug abuse treatment after release and to be in treatment at a 6.5-month follow-up. Moreover, being in treatment at follow-up was associated with lower drug use and crime, but rates of retention in community treatment after release were modest. KEEP participants have more chronic and severe social and personal deficits than other addicts applying for treatment. The in-jail program was most effective in maintaining post-release continuity of methadone treatment for inmates already enrolled in methadone at arrest. The process evaluation yielded several recommendations to help overcome client-centered, administrative, and systemic obstacles to improved outcomes for this difficult-to-treat population of criminally-involved addicts.

Evaluation, Diagnosis, and Prediction in Parole Decision Making

Discretionary legal decisions have become a recent focus of theory development and policy-oriented applied research. We investigated parole release decision making in Pennsylvania from both orientations. Analyses of post-hearing questionnaires and case files from 1,035 actual parole decisions revealed that the Parole Board considers institutional behavior and predictions of future risk and rehabilitation in the decision to release on parole. Predictions seem also to be based on diagnostic judgments identifying causes of crime such as personal dispositions, drugs, alcohol, money, and environment. A one-year follow-up of 838 released parolees showed that predictions were virtually unrelated to known post-release outcomes. An actuarial prediction device was developed that is more predictive than subjective judgments. The use of decision guidelines to structure discretion is discussed, as well as the utilization of our research in guideline development by Pennsylvania.

A Test of the Effectiveness of a Differential Treatment Strategy At the Robert F. Kennedy Center

The effects of an experimental program of differential classification and treatment were studied by comparing releasees from two Federal Correctional Institutions. In-program outcomes were statistically different at the two institutions. Overall, and for each treatment type, releasees from the experimental institution, the Robert F. Kennedy Center at Morgantown, West Virginia, had more paroles, fewer mandatory releases or expirations of sentences, and more escapes or transfers than the comparison institution, the Federal Correctional Institution at Ashland, Kentucky. Comparisons of post-release outcome at six-month intervals up to 36 months yielded no differences between the institutions. Statistical adjustment of 36-month outcome to compensate for differences in the two populations slightly increased the difference between the institutions, but the results still failed to reach significance. Possible weaknesses in the research design are discussed.