NCJ Number
60207
Date Published
Unknown
Length
17 pages
Annotation
THE GOALS AND EFFECTIVENESS OF EIGHT HALFWAY HOUSES IN MINNESOTA ARE ANALYZED FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING WHETHER FUNDING SHOULD BE PROVIDED TO NEW HALFWAY HOUSES FOR PAROLEES.
Abstract
GOALS SHARED BY THE HALFWAY HOUSES INCLUDE REDUCING THE RECIDIVISM RATE; INCREASING CLIENT'S EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATIONAL LEVEL, OR VOCATIONAL SKILLS; REHABILITATING EX-OFFENDERS; AND DEMONSTRATING THAT EX-OFFENDERS CAN BE EFFECTIVE STAFF MEMBERS OF HALFWAY HOUSES. THE IMMEDIATE FOCUS OF THE PROGRAMS IS TO RESOLVE CLIENT'S ECONOMIC, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS. THE AVERAGE LENGTH OF RESIDENCE VARIES BY PROJECT, FROM 2 TO 6.5 MONTHS. OCCUPANCY RATES VARY FROM 40.0 PERCENT TO 84.4 PERCENT. ANALYSIS SHOWS THAT HALFWAY HOUSES OPERATE AT COSTS COMPARABLE TO OR LESS THAN THOSE OF CORRESPONDING CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND ARE HELPING TO INCREASE EMPLOYMENT AMONG RESIDENTS. CHANGES IN EDUCATIONAL LEVEL AND VOCATIONAL SKILLS OF CLIENTS HOWEVER ARE SLIGHT. IN ADDITION, ONLY ABOUT ONE-THIRD OF THE CLIENTS SATISFACTORILY COMPLETE RESIDENCE; IF THE PROGRAMS ARE TO HAVE INCREASED IMPACT, EFFORTS MUST BE MADE TO IMPROVE THIS PERCENTAGE. ON THE BASIS OF THE DATA, IT IS CONCLUDED THAT SATISFACTORY COMPLETION OF A HALFWAY HOUSE PROGRAM DECREASES THE LIKELIHOOD OF RECIDIVISM IN THE FIRST YEAR FOLLOWING RESIDENCE TERMINATION, BUT HAS NO LONG-TERM EFFECT ON RECIDIVISM. IT IS ALSO CONCLUDED THAT ALTHOUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION OF EXPERIMENTAL TREATMENT PROGRAMS ARE IMPORTANT, REPLICATION OF INDIVIDUAL PROGRAMS IS NOT A MAJOR NEED IN MINNESOTA. FOOTNOTES ARE INCLUDED IN THE REPORT. (LWM)