NCJ Number
93526
Date Published
1983
Length
219 pages
Annotation
This evaluation of a British program designed to assist ex-offenders to return to formal education in the outside world used the case study approach to identify factors that contributed to success and failure for different persons involved in the program.
Abstract
The National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders Education Program had two components during its 3 years of operation -- advisory service and a hostel. The advisory service provided clients with guidance on the pursuit of education and also advised colleges on the suitability of those clients whom it recommended. Out of the many clients handled by the advisory service, a small number was selected for a residence in the hostel, which was viewed as an intermediate step between being subjected to imprisonment or other form of treatment by the courts and becoming an ordinary student at a college or university. This study focuses on those who particpated in the hostel. In the case studies, particular attention was given to these aspects of program involvement: commitment to the programs of the hostel; the meaning of the hostel for the resident; and the extent to which the hostel fulfilled the functions of controlling, serving, and mobilizing people. Of the 12 case studies 7 were judged not to have rehabilitated, while 5 were deemed to have rehabilitated (as determined by recidivism). A significant finding was that those clients who failed tended to be overcommitted to the hostel program, so that pressures and failures were intensified in their minds, leading to destructive excapist behaviors. Three out of the five successful cases were characterized by undercommitment, which appeared to reduce stress from program participation. The successful clients also tended to view the hostel as a temporary shelter from the demands of society which would prepare them to take the next step of assuming more demanding responsibilities. Apparently, none of the functions of the program were intrinsically either positive or negative with respect to rehabilitation. The functions had different effects for different clients. The appendixes contain a brochure about the project and instructions on the hostel's notice board. An index and 236 bibliographic listings are provided.