Assessment of the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative

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Abstract

This testimony before the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies focused on an evaluation of the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative. Funded by the Justice, Labor, Education, Housing and Urban Development, and Health and Human Services departments, SVORI supported innovative reentry programs at the state and community levels. As part of this effort, the National Institute of Justice funded a comprehensive process, impact, and cost evaluation of SVORI programs by RTI International and the Urban Institute. Preliminary results of the evaluation were presented to the subcommittee.

Testimony

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, we are pleased to appear before you today and to provide you with information regarding the evaluation of the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative, a National Institute of Justice funded study that is beingconducted by researchers at RTI International and the Urban Institute.

I am Dr. Pamela Lattimore, a Principal Scientist at RTI International. Seated next to me is Dr. Christy Visher, Principal Research Associate at the Urban Institute and Professor at the University of Delaware. We are Co-Principal Investigators of the evaluation.

As you may know, RTI International is an independent, nonprofit research organization based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, that provides research and technical expertise to governments and businesses in more than 40 countries. The Urban Institute, located in Washington, D.C., is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that examines the social, economic, and governance challenges facing the nation.

Dr. Visher and I have been studying criminal behavior and the effectiveness of correctional programs for more than twenty years. These issues have taken on more importance during this time as the number of people under the supervision of the criminal justice system doubled from 3.7 million in 1988 when Dr. Visher and I began visiting research fellowships at the National Institute of Justice to 7.3 million in 2007 (the latest data available). During this time, the number of people in state and federal prisons grew from about 600,000 to nearly 1.6 million. Our local jails now hold over 780,000—more than double the 340,000 who were jailed in 1988.

(End of excerpt. The full written testimony is available in PDF format.)

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