Process Evaluation of the Pennsylvania Community Orientation and Reintegration (COR) Program

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

Note: This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF).

INTRODUCTION

In February 2001, shortly after his appointment as Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Dr. Jeffrey Beard launched efforts to establish the state's first comprehensive reentry program. The program, named Community Orientation and Reintegration (COR), was envisioned to provide inmates with the skills, information and resources needed to make a successful return to Pennsylvania's communities. Curriculum development began on two separate segments of the program. Phase I, which is delivered in the state correctional institutions (SCIs), is designed as a refresher course to reinforce the lessons learned from prior prison programming, such as substance abuse education, citizenship, and parenting skills. Phase II, which is delivered in community corrections centers (CCCs), is designed to help link returning inmates with services and jobs in the communities to which they are returning, as well as to facilitate family reunification. Over a dozen DOC staff were involved in the curriculum development for Phases I and II, and the entire COR program was conceptualized and ready for implementation in a sixmonth period.

COR was implemented in December 2001 as a pilot program, with approximately half of soon-to-be released inmates randomly assigned to COR. In March 2002, the Pennsylvania DOC contracted the Urban Institute to conduct a process evaluation of COR. The purpose of the process evaluation is threefold: (1) to research "best practices" on reentry programming across the country; (2) to assess the needs of soon-to-be-released Pennsylvania inmates and determine whether the COR curriculum matches those needs; and (3) and to evaluate the extent to which the COR program is consistent with its original goals and objectives.

This report represents the first of three written products of the COR process evaluation. The first section of this report reviews the evaluation literature on reentry programs and related efforts across the country. The literature review discusses reentry programs that have been found to have a positive impact on recidivism and intermediate outcomes, such as finding employment and avoiding drug and alcohol relapse. The second section is a logic model of COR developed from the COR curriculum and other documents provided by the Pennsylvania DOC. The report concludes with an analysis that highlights the elements of the logic model that are consistent with promising reentry practices identified through prior research, as well as gaps in the COR program. The results of this report will help guide the remainder of the process evaluation, identifying areas of the COR curriculum that might be enhanced to better meet the needs of returning prisoners.

Note: This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF).

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

Usage, posting and reprint of materials on the UI web site:

Most publications may be downloaded free of charge from the web site in PDF format. This information may be used and copies made for research, academic, policy or other non-commercial purposes. Proper attribution is required.

Copyright of the written materials contained within the Urban Institute website is owned or controlled by the Urban Institute. Posting UI research papers on other websites is permitted subject to prior approval from the Urban Institute—contact paffairs@urban.org.

If you are unable to access or print the PDF document please contact us or call the Publications Office at (202) 261-5687.