An Evaluation of Focus Reentry in Boulder County, CO: Examining a Jail to Community Mentoring Program.

• In Event: Reentry Programs: Strategies, Challenges, & Effectiveness

Abstract

There has been an increasing trend of jail incarceration rates in the US (Kaeble, Glaze, Tsoutis & Minton, 2015), leaving many jurisdictions ill equipped to serve the needs of this population. Nationally, jails face an estimated 12 million admission and releases each year (Beck, 2006). Short lengths of stay and the lack of capacity to offer rehabilitative programs have resulted in a revolving door problem for many jails in the US. However, jails may provide an opportunity to serve a population at risk for further offenses, with programming aimed to stop individuals from reentering the criminal justice system. The purpose of this study is to evaluate a county-based jail to community reentry program in Boulder County, Colorado. The program, Focus Reentry, uses one-on-one mentoring to aid in the reintegration of offenders from jail. A retroactive evaluation was run to compare individuals who took part in Focus Reentry from 2012 to 2015. Two matched control groups are used: individuals who signed up for the program but did not receive mentoring, and a group who did not sign up for programming. Results and future policy implications will be discussed.

Authors

• Kitsya Cordova, University of Northern Colorado

• Kyle C. Ward, University of Northern Colorado

• Victoria Terranova, University of Northern Colorado