The Effects of Correctional Program Participation on Recidivism

• In Event: What Can 105,000 Incarcerated Offenders Tell Us about the Effects of Participation in Correctional Programs?

Abstract

This paper presents findings from an extensive study of one state’s institutional programs. Programs in the study include traditional treatment programs (e.g., Thinking for a Change), substance abuse programs, a wide array of education programs (e.g., basic education, secondary education, vocational/career technical education, postsecondary education) and other programs (e.g., self help, mentoring, parenting, etc.). The study was comprised of two components: an outcome evaluation comparing inmates who participated in programming to those who did not participate in programming and a process evaluation concerning the quality of key treatment programs and all educational programs. Included in the study are programmatic data collected through site visits to 28 prisons and individual offender level data for 105,000 offenders. The quality of programs was measured during the site visits using variations of the Evidence-Based Correctional Program Checklist (CPC), and re-incarceration is used as the main measure outcome. The study will be explained, the effects of program participation on recidivism will be discussed, and avenues for future research will be presented.

Authors

• Carrie Sullivan, University of Cincinnati

• Amanda Pompoco, University of Cincinnati

• Erin Harbinson, Council of State Governments

• Edward Latessa, University of Cincinnati