This report was prepared in accordance with the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, to collect and evaluate data and continue to advance the research on the impact of correctional education on recidivism; it is organized into sections providing background, a project description, a Fiscal Year 2023 update, and additional efforts to advance the research on the impacts of correctional education on recidivism.
This document reports on a project that used a randomized controlled trial to examine the prison re-entry rates of individuals who were incarcerated at the Illinois Department of Corrections’ Kewanee Life Skills Re-entry Center (LSRC) to those incarcerated at comparison facilities in Illinois that lacked similar educational programming or health access, in order to determine if investments in education, mental, and physical health during incarceration reduces prison re-entry rates. It notes that the LSRC facility only admits men who are considered to be at medium or high risk of recidivating post-release, based on the following factors: severity of instant offense; age; age at first contact with police, and number of prior offenses; and antisocial attitudes. The report provides a 2023 update which takes place two years after the start of the randomized study, noting approximately 550 individuals have been randomized, and that by the end of the project period, the University of Chicago expects that it will have estimated the impact of the intervention on three-year re-incarceration rates for 84 percent of the study sample.