Program For Offenders: Comprehensive Evaluation and Cost/Benefit Analysis of a Community Corrections Facility

• NCJ Number: 240302
• Author(s): Hide Yamatani, Ph.D.
• Date Published: January 2012
• Length: 35 pages
• Publication Format: Document; Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report presents the evaluation findings and methodology for Pittsburgh's Program for Offenders, Inc. (TPFO), which is a nonprofit community-based corrections facility that provides alternative residential jail services to male and female offenders in Allegheny County, PA.

Abstract

The evaluation findings overall, show that TPFO is creating an environment of encouragement and accountability that has provided many offenders the opportunity to understand how to rebuild their lives and to become self-empowered and re-integrated members of the community. The TPFO programs rated as significantly helpful by 80 percent or more of the former inmates at 6 months after their release included substance abuse rehabilitation, parenting skills, GED/adult basic education, life skills, HIV/AIDS education, employment search, and computer literacy. Successful community integration was evident in living arrangements at 6 months after release. Six out of 10 former inmates were living in their own house or apartment; 78 percent were paying rent or mortgage; and 67.1 percent had lived only in one location. Employment was also high among former inmates 6 months after their release; and 66.3 percent of the former inmates indicated that they remained drug-free and sober since leaving TPFO after 6 months. Overall, health status was rated as good to excellent by a high majority of the former inmates 6 months after release. The estimated annual recidivism rate achieved by TPFO was a low of 14.5 percent, based on surveys and searches of the Department of Corrections records. The TPFO was determined to be cost-effective; for every dollar spent on contracting TPFO services, the average return is approximately $4.09. The evaluation recommends that the inmate reimbursement rate be set at $70.77 per day per inmate. TPFO's evaluation system addresses the fidelity of service implementation and optimal organizational culture. The outcome objectives focus on the achievement of desirable benefits. 9 charts