The Justice Policy Center’s Corrections, Reentry, and Community Supervision researchers inform correctional practices and policies to help exiting prisoners and jail inmates lead productive and law abiding lives.
The Role of Parole in Reentry
This project consists of three activities 1) development of a policy paper on effective parole supervision strategies and opportunities to move the parole supervision field forward; 2) a national survey of parole supervision practices; and 3) development of a Parole Academy. The policy paper, Putting Public Safety First, was released in December 2008, and details thirteen strategies for effective parole supervision to reduce recidivism and enhance reentry outcomes. Findings from the 2008 Parole Practices Survey detail the degree to which those strategies have been adopted at the field-office level and the organizational factors that relate to their adoption. The Parole Best Practice Training Academy will help supervision agencies to implement evidence-based and best practices. This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance.
Reentry Planning/Collaboration
This project builds on UI’s work on jail reentry to develop two audience-specific toolkits addressing the topic of jail reentry. One is directed at local elected officials interested in establishing, enhancing and sustaining jail reentry efforts in their jurisdictions. The other is directed at community-based organizations interested in working in and with jail facilities to contribute to effective reentry. This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance.
Transitional Jobs Reentry Demonstration (TJRD)
This project is a random assignment research design to test two different ways to help people find work after leaving prison—through transitional jobs programs or through job search services. The transitional jobs group receives subsidized jobs for 90 days with job evaluation and mentoring, job readiness skills and case management, services to find unsubsidized jobs, and client supports such as transportation assistance. The job search group receives traditional job search activities and services including: case management, housing support, resume preparation, and soft skills training finding jobs. Outcomes for both groups are being tracked for at least one year using administrative data on criminal justice measures (re-arrest, re-conviction, and re-incarceration), employment, and earnings. MDRC is leading this project with the Urban Institute and University of Michigan as partners. TJRD is going on in four cities: Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, and St. Paul.
Evaluation of the Returning Home Initiative
The Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) tasked the Urban Institute with assessing the process of systems change stimulated by its Returning Home Initiative. With funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, CSH launched its Returning Home Initiative with the goal to establish permanent supportive housing for individuals returning from incarceration with histories of mental illness and homelessness, and to promote local and national policy changes to better integrate the correctional, housing, mental health, and human services systems. The Urban Institute is conducting a series of site visits to Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York—large cities where CSH has focused significant resources—to conduct interviews with various stakeholders, exploring how CSH has operated as a change agent in reentry supportive housing. A final report summarizes the state of the RHI goals, introduces the major institutional players, highlights significant accomplishments, and describes the progress of systems change and the barriers encountered.
Release Planning for Successful Reentry
In 2008, JPC released the report, Release Planning for Successful Reentry: A Guide for Corrections, Service Providers, and Community Groups. Funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the report examines release planning practices across the country and identifies the specific elements that together embody thoughtful and effective prisoner release procedures. Researchers culled this information from a national survey of state correctional departments, a scan of practice, and a literature review on the topic of release planning. The report is intended as a resource for corrections agencies and their community partners as they work to improve the way prisoners are prepared for release. Researchers received additonal funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation to translate the findings of the report into a self-assessment tool for corrections that assists corrections administrators in systematically evaluating their release planning procedures and setting goals for improvement.
Transition from Jail to Community Initiative
This project is a continuation of the Urban Institute’s work on the Transition from Jail to Community (TJC) Initiative. Earlier phases of the project involved the development of a comprehensive systems-level model for jail-to-community transition. In this phase of the project, six jurisdictions (Douglas County, KS, Denver, CO, Orange County, CA, Kent County, MI, Davidson County, TN, and La Crosse County, WI) receive technical assistance in devising and implementing a jurisdiction-specific jail-to-community transition strategy consistent with the TJC model. The process evaluation component documents model implementation in each site and measures associated system change while also enhancing local capacity for self-evaluation. The project is developing a web-based TJC Implementation Toolkit, informed by the implementation experiences in the TJC sites, to guide jurisdictions nationwide in designing comprehensive jail-to-community transition approaches. This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections.
Cook County Frequent Users of Jail and Mental Health Services Project
The Urban Institute is developing a three-and-a-half year evaluation of the Cook County Frequent Users of Jail and Mental Health Services Project, which is designed to provide permanent supportive housing for individuals at risk of homelessness who have histories of mental illness and extensive jail use. The evaluation consists of: 1) conducting a process and outcome evaluation documenting program operations; 2) assessing the impact of the Project on recidivism and housing stability using a random assignment, impact evaluation design; 3) conducting a cost-benefit analysis; and 4) assessing the transferability of the Project to other jurisdictions. Using qualitative and quantitative data from formerly incarcerated persons, housing/service providers associated with the Project, and governmental agencies, the evaluation provides policymakers and program developers with empirical information about whether permanent supportive housing reduces recidivism and increases residential instability. UI’s research products include interim and final reports, policy briefs, journal articles, and conference presentations.
Survey of Faith-Based Corrections and Reentry Programs
Although faith-based organizations have long served disadvantaged individuals, including prisoners, few studies have examined the effectiveness of faith-based efforts to improve prisoner re-entry and reduce recidivism or identified the distinguishing characteristics of “faith-related” programming. None have focused on faith-based programs in corrections. This 12-month project surveys faith-based prison- and community-based reentry programs from across the nation and a variety of religious traditions to (1) describe key program characteristics; (2) examine the underlying logic of these programs; and (3) explore the manner and extent to which faith or spirituality infuses programming and services. The objective of the research is to provide policymakers, program developers, practitioners, and evaluators with a typology for classifying faith-based corrections programs, and a platform for future research on the operations and effectiveness of faith-based programs. Funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice.
Employment Retention Forum
The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) plans to develop a training curriculum for employment specialists who implement workforce development services oriented to offender reentry. The focus of the program is on training employment retention specialists to use evidence-based practices for career planning and successful, long term, gainful employment that leads to sustained economic self-sufficiency for their clientele. The curriculum, as currently envisioned, adapts a substance abuse relapse prevention model to facilitate employment retention of former offenders who have returned to the community. UI researchers are supporting NIC by convening cognizant practitioners, researchers, foundations, and government agencies engaged in offender reentry initiatives -- particularly those focused on employment policies and practices -- to discuss substantive topics that should be addressed in this train-the-trainers curriculum.
Safer Return: A Research-Based Community Reentry Initiative
Funded by the MacArthur Foundation, Safer Return--A Research-Based Community Reentry Initiative is designed to address the problems faced by formerly incarcerated persons by bringing together best and promising practices in one reentry program. Safer Return is a multi-year demonstration project implemented in the East Garfield Park community area of Chicago, IL. Safer Return aims to promote successful reentry, by: 1) addressing the key needs of recently released formerly incarcerated persons, such as stable housing and gainful employment; 2) introducing system reforms, such as comprehensive case management and neighborhood-based parole officers; and 3) improving the local conditions that present barriers to success, including limited access to pro-social activities and positive role models. Using a quasi-experimental design (with West Englewood serving as the comparison community) and multiple methods, Urban Institute researchers are conducting a process, impact and economic evaluation of Safer Return focused on individual, family, and community outcomes.
Evaluation of CCTV
In 2007, with funding from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, the Urban Institute began conducting a process and impact evaluation of the use of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) to prevent crime and disorder in downtown commercial areas. In collaboration with law enforcement agencies in Baltimore, Maryland, Chicago, Illinois, and Washington, D.C., this evaluation: (1) documents the process of installing CCTV in public spaces; (2) describes the various crime control, investigative, and prosecutorial applications of CCTV; (3) evaluates the impact of CCTV on reducing and/or displacing crime; (4) assesses the degree to which CCTV supports police arrests, investigations and prosecutions; and (5) analyzes the cost effectiveness of CCTV. The production of a practitioner-friendly guidebook on the use of CCTV is planned to prevent and investigate crime in public places, in addition to a process and impact evaluation report documenting each city's use of CCTV.
Evaluation of The Providence Plan’s Prisoner Reentry Mapping Tool
This project evaluates a web-based mapping tool designed to help corrections, public safety, and social service agencies supervise and assist returning prisoners in Rhode Island. Developed and disseminated by The Providence Plan, the mapping tool employs user friendly queries and utilizes open-source software (MySQL, Ruby on Rails, and Google Maps). The evaluation analyzes quantitative data from user logs-ins and a web-based survey of users, as well as qualitative data from interviews and focus groups with both users and the tool's development team. Project deliverables include a final report, a technical manual for replication in other communities, and a research brief for practitioners.
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections/Corporation for Supportive Housing Pilot Project
The Urban Institute has been tasked by the Ohio Department of Corrections and the Corporation for Supportive Housing to evaluate their reentry housing pilot project. The Pilot is implemented in five Ohio cities—Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, and Toledo—and provides permanent supportive housing to individuals with mental health, substance abuse, and homelessness issues upon return from selected Ohio prisons. The Pilot intends to: 1) reduce recidivism; 2) reduce homelessness/decrease shelter usage; and 3) decrease the costs associated with multiple service system use. The evaluation uses multiple methods to assess the impact of and costs and benefits associated with the Pilot using survey data, program and cost data, semi-structured interviews with staff members associated with the Pilot, and official records from various government agencies. The dissemination plan includes an interim and final report that contain a program description, impact and costs analyses findings, and the implications for policy and practice.
Education Reentry Roundtable
This project meets the pressing need to explore the issues surrounding education, incarceration and reentry. A two-day roundtable on this subject was convened March 31 and April 1, 2008, at which seven commissioned papers were presented. The Urban Institute and the Prisoner Reentry Institute at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice developed a monograph that synthesizes the findings of the Reentry Roundtable on Education, including the commissioned papers and presentations as well as the discussion during the Roundtable. This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance and National Institute of Justice, the U.S. Department of Education, and private donors.
Jail Population Reduction for Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JPR)
This project supports and documents the development of an evidence-based, strategic approach to jail population reduction and justice reinvestment in three jurisdictions: Alachua County, Florida; Allegheny County, Pennsylvania; and Travis County, Texas. Employing a local data-driven approach and a collaborative system-wide decision making process in each jurisdiction, sites are developing strategies to free up jail space for those who pose the greatest risk to public safety. The justice reinvestment aspect of this project enables savings from jail population reductions to be targeted to activities designed to prevent crime and reduce recidivism in these communities.
Prisoner Reentry Initiative (PRI) Training and Technical Assistance
CEPP and UI are providing training and technical assistance to PRI FY2007 grantees. We have developed a series of coaching packets for grantees, and conduct webinars to support interactive training on these topics.
Evaluation of the New Jersey Governor’s Safe Streets and Neighborhoods Initiative
In partnership with the Vera Institute for Justice, JPC is conducting a statewide process and outcome evaluation of a comprehensive crime control initiative focusing on law enforcement, prevention and reentry in New Jersey. This research includes documentation of the initiative’s implementation at both the state and local levels, development of performance measures for the Attorney General’s Office, and the assessment of intermediate outcomes and long term impacts on violent crime.
Transition from Prison to Community (TPC) Initiative Evaluation
UI is providing evaluation support to the current phase of the Transition from Prison to Community (TPC) Initiative. During this second phase of TPC, six states receive technical assistance support to employ the principles, approaches and strategies that make up the TPC model. The evaluation approach consists of four components: (1) Process evaluation focused on implementation and fidelity to the TPC model; (2) Systems change analysis; (3) Performance measurement; and (4) Outcome analysis. Evaluation activities will take place over a 36-month period. This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections.
Safer Return Demonstration Project: Examining the Impact of Family-Inclusive Case Management on Reentry Outcomes
The Safer Return Demonstration Project provides comprehensive reentry support to individuals released from the Illinois Department of Corrections to the East Garfield Park community of Chicago, IL. Through Safer Return, individual participants receive a host of services pre- and post-release. A critical service of the Safer Return Project is the case management component, which is family-inclusive based on the La Bodega de la Familia model developed by Family Justice. With funding from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, the Urban Institute will conduct a process and outcome evaluation of Safer Return’s family-inclusive case management using a quasi-experimental design. With qualitative and quantitative data, UI researchers are assessing whether program participants receive more case management than formerly incarcerated persons released to a comparison community, and whether increased case management leads to better reentry outcomes. This evaluation illustrates whether families offer a low-cost vehicle for leveraging institutional investments toward better reentry outcomes.
Safer Return: A Research-Based Community Reentry Initiative
Funded by the MacArthur Foundation, Safer Return--A Research-Based Community Reentry Initiative is designed to address the problems faced by formerly incarcerated persons by bringing together best and promising practices in one reentry program. Using a quasi-experimental design (with West Englewood serving as the comparison community) and multiple methods, Urban Institute researchers are conducting a process, impact and economic evaluation of Safer Return focused on individual, family, and community outcomes. This award extends the family and community components of the initial MacArthur-funded Safer Return research.
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