Impact of Reentry Courts on Intermediate Outcomes (Prospective Study)

• In Event: Do Reentry Courts Work? Findings from NIJ’s Multi-State Research on Reentry Courts

Abstract

This paper summarizes findings from the prospective study component, specifically in-depth quantitative interviews with a sample of 515 reentry court and comparison participants across four sites. The primary research question is whether reentry courts are associated with improvements in such areas as criminal behavior, drug and alcohol use, employment, housing, mental health, and family relationships. Interview participants were surveyed at baseline and again twelve months later (82% retention rate from original baseline numbers). Super-weighting techniques were used to address for baseline differences between the two samples as well as differences in attrition from the prospective study. Analyses were conducted to examine intermediate outcomes including self-reported employment, education, family relationships, housing, substance use and undetected criminal activity. The impact of supervision experiences and sample member perceptions, with a focus on procedural justice, supervision compliance, access to treatment and services on recidivism were also examined. As with the recidivism study, the presentation will include select sub-group analyses, examining, for example, whether the reentry court is particularly effective for specific risk groups or offenders with specific service needs.

Authors

• Lama Hassoun Ayoub, Center for Court Innovation

• Charlene Zil, NPC Research

• Christine Lindquist, RTI International

• Michael Rempel, Center for Court Innovation

• Shannon Carey, NPC Research