NCJ Number
80392
Date Published
1981
Length
50 pages
Annotation
Program evaluation to describe the processes of startup and implementation of seven community service restitution (CSR) projects which had received LEAA startup funding measured the programs' effects on offenders, criminal justice systems, and communities. This is an executive summary of the evaluation report.
Abstract
In addition, cross-project comparisons were conducted to specify strategies and conditions leading to wider and more effective use of CSR with various types of clients. LEAA chose projects that provided comprehensive support and information services for clients, had client selection criteria, had made voluntary social and vocational rehabilitative services available, and employed administrative procedures for monitoring sentence performance. The seven projects were (1) Alternatives -- A Community Service Restitution Program For Women, Arrowhead Regional Corrections, Minn.; (2) the Baltimore County Volunteer Community Service Program; (3) the Northeastern University Community Service Restitution Program B in Massachusetts; (4) the Jacksonville Community Restitution Clearinghouse in Florida; (5) the Offender Aid and Restoration project of Charlottesville, Va.; (6) the Prisoner and Community Together (PACT) program of Porter County, Ind.; and (7) the San Francisco Community Services Project. Data collection was carried out through site visits, client surveys, surveys of criminal justice and placement agency staffs, and baseline studies of 100 clients for each location. Results indicated that the programs were beneficial and that clients' and the criminal justice systems' reactions were generally positive. Projects with fewer layers of management and with more autonomy for project managers appeared to run more smoothly. Other success factors were realistic objectives; firm commitment from criminal justice personnel, referral agents, and placement agencies; and coordination of planning and implementation. Additional findings on these subjects and on the impact of CSR on judges' sentencing patterns, impacts on the criminal justice system, project costs, and existing State and local laws influencing CSR are provided. Legal issues arising from CSR are also addressed regarding sentencing alternatives, diversion processes, the defendant's right to counsel, voluntariness of waiver, involuntary servitude, insurance, and more. Appendixes contain study data, data collection forms and codebooks, and the table of contents from LEAA's Handbook on Community Service Restitution. For the full report, see NCJ 80391.