NCJ Number
210708
Journal
Journal of Correctional Education Volume: 56 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2005 Pages: 108-114
Date Published
June 2005
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article describes the features and presents evaluation findings of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office (Florida) Project New Attitudes (PNA), which delivers life skills training and aftercare case management under a grant from the Life Skills for State and Local Prisoners Program of the U.S. Department of Education.
Abstract
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and the PNA have partnered with public and private agencies in the community to implement both the residential and aftercare portions of the program. The program serves inmates of diverse ethnicity and educational achievement. Each participant is tested upon entry, and individual education plans are developed as part of a comprehensive treatment plan. The curriculum delivered during incarceration encompasses self-development, communication skills, job skills development, education, interpersonal relationship development, criminal thinking, stress and anger management, and accessing social service and community resources. The curriculum covers 9 weeks. Discharge planning connects program participants with the aftercare portions of the program. The process evaluation showed that the PNA served approximately 330 inmates per year over the first 3 years of the program, far exceeding its design goals. Pre/post testing showed short-term improvements in self-esteem and increases in positive behaviors. Long-term outcomes were measured by recidivism within a year of release and success in reaching transitional goals, such as employment and establishing credit. The rearrest rate for program graduates of the first 35 groups was 14 percent lower than that of the controls who did not participate in the programs, and program graduates who were rearrested remained arrest-free 25 percent longer than those in the control group. Those who succeeded in reaching transitional goals had significantly lower recidivism rates than those who did not. The importance of sufficient funding for the aftercare component was confirmed.