NCJ Number
137379
Date Published
1989
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Data from 116 peer counselors in New York State's Pre- release Program were compared with data from other offenders completing the program to determine their relative rates of return to correctional institutions.
Abstract
The role of the peer counselors was to assist other inmates in their efforts to prepare for release and return to their families and communities. The analysis focused on peer counselors who were released in 1987 and 1988. The peer counselors had all functioned in that capacity for at least 6 months and had been released for at least 12 months. The results revealed that the 14.7 percent return rate of the peer counselors was substantially lower than their projected rate which was based on the overall return rate of 25.9 percent. Thus, findings suggested a positive relationship between serving as a pre-release peer counselor and satisfactory adjustment in the community. This conclusion was not surprising, in view of the more intensive and extended involvement of peer counselors in the program in comparison to other offenders. Table and footnotes