Research by Author & Topic

Publications by Shelli B. Rossman on Crime and Justice

The Opportunity to Succeed (OPTS) program was designed to reduce substance abuse relapse and criminal recidivism by providing comprehensive, case-managed reentry services to felony offenders who had drug offense histories. This article describes how a process and impact evaluation of the multisite OPTS program illuminates the importance of employment and related services for returning prisoners.

The From Prisons to Home Conference, held on January 30-31, 2002 at the National Institutes of Health, was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The purpose of the conference was to bring together the research, policy, and practice communities to share promising strategies, identify research needs, and inform federal program and policy development for children and families affected by the incarceration of a parent. Eleven papers were commissioned by leading experts to survey the state of knowledge on the dynamics of incarceration and reentry as seen from the perspectives of child, parent and community. This paper focuses on the integration of services that target the prisoner, his family and children during incarceration and upon release. It explores two major issues: the coordination of service delivery across the criminal justice and health and human services systems, and the coordination between in-prison service delivery and aftercare in the community.

Common sense and years of research suggest that community-based collaboratives are the best hope for helping at-risk youth. This report, drawn from evaluations of the Communities in Schools and SafeFuture initiatives, offers a wealth of hands-on advice and real-life examples to help program leaders overcome the challenges of setting up or running their own community-based initiative. Detailed chapters cover fund raising and marketing, case management and service integration, parental involvement, volunteer mentors and tutors, and monitoring program outcomes.