Assessing the Evidence: Strengths, Limitations, and Building a Stronger Body of Knowledge

• In Event: What Works in Reentry: Methods and Findings from the What Works in Reentry Clearinghouse

Abstract

This presentation provides an overview of the knowledge base on what works in prisoner reentry. Drawing from the Urban Institute's systematic review of literature associated with the What Works in Reentry Clearinghouse, the results of efforts to screen and assess evaluation literature on all manner of reentry programming, treatment, policy, support, and supervision are presented. Highlights include the fact that less than a third of reentry evaluations were sufficiently rigorous for inclusion in the Clearinghouse, with the primary reasons for exclusion being employment of program completers rather than all treatment subjects (including attritors), insufficient controls, and the absence of a comparison group. Moreover, only 30 percent of studies that were found to be sufficiently rigorous included any information on program fidelity and almost two-thirds of them examined only recidivism outcomes. These findings have important implications for the field and demand attention in order to shore up the quality of our knowledge base in the interests of guiding more effective efforts at improving reentry outcomes and thus enhancing public safety.

Authors

• Nancy La Vigne, Urban Institute

• Samantha Harvell, Urban Institute