NCJ Number
250363
Date Published
May 2015
Length
66 pages
Annotation
In order to determine the life experiences of participants in Illinois' St. Leonard's House and Grace House before, during, and after their participation in these programs, this study conducted in-depth interviews with three male former residents of St. Leonard's House (SLH) and two women who were former residents of Grace House (GH).
Abstract
The programs in which these five individuals participated are transitional, residential programs with supportive services for released male inmates (St. Leonard's House) and released female inmates (Grace House). This case-studies report is the first in a series of reports on the evaluation findings for SLH and GH, which together compose the St. Leonard's Ministries (SLM). SLM is a non-profit organization that opened in 1954 to house formerly incarcerated individuals. Overall, these five former residents agreed that the facilities were nice, the services were helpful, and staff were supportive. They would recommend the programs to other individuals just released from correctional facilities. The interviews produced few recommendations for changes or improvements in either program. A few mentioned the difficulty of establishing an extended interaction with a psychological counselor because they were interns who were rotated every 4 months. This suggests the programs should examine the feasibility of having longer internships for interns working with SLM residents. In addition, one of the former residents suggested that program rules should be enforced with greater consistency, so as to ensure perceptions of fairness and objectivity. 5 tables, 4 figures, and 71 references