Georgia Cognitive Skills Experiment: A Replication of Reasoning and Rehabilitation

• NCJ Number: 205949
• Journal: Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 31 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2004 Pages: 282-305
• Author(s): Patricia Van Voorhis; Lisa M. Spruance; P. Neal Ritchey; Shelley Johnson Listwan; Renita Seabrook
• Date Published: June 2004
• Length: 24 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This evaluation of the Georgia Cognitive Skills Program, a replication of Ross and Fabiano's Reasoning and Rehabilitation, examined the program's effects for 468 parolees randomly assigned to treatment compared with a control group.

Abstract

From May 1997 to July 1998, 16 parole districts across Georgia conducted 23 cognitive skills classes that ranged in size from 8 to 13 parolees. Prior to beginning the classes, approximately 50 Georgia parole officers participated in a 2-week training session to qualify them to be group coaches. The program consisted of 35 lessons that addressed 7 key components: problem solving, creative thinking, social skills, management of emotions, negotiation skills, values enhancement, and critical reasoning. Each topic was further divided into sequenced subskills. Selection criteria for the evaluation study pool screened out parolees with IQ scores lower than 80 and those with histories of sex offenses or severe substance abuse. Staff were instructed to select their "most problematic parolees." The evaluation tested the program's effects on participants' arrests/revocations, technical violations, employment at 9 months, and returns to prison at 18 to 30 months. Of the parolees assigned to the program, 60 percent completed the class. The evaluation found that by the end of the study, only 27 percent of the program completers returned to prison, compared to 44 percent of the control group and 66 percent of the program dropouts. By the end of the 9-month period, 21 percent of completers, 40 percent of controls, and 60 percent of dropouts were rearrested/revoked. Proportionately fewer program completers than dropouts or controls had at least one technical violation, controlling for group differences; however, the differences were not statistically significant. A greater proportion of program completers were employed for all three follow-up periods compared to dropouts. Program effects were similar for low-risk and medium/high-risk parolees. 5 figures, 2 tables, 4 notes, and 59 references