In light of President Bush's enthusiastic support and numerous initiatives, there is a growing call to fund "faith-based" social service programs, including those focused on juvenile and adult offenders. These programs are controversial because they seek to reconfigure the line separating church and state. Based on a national 2001 survey of 327…

Groups attempting to bring about change in adult corrections in Missouri are listed alphabetically in this directory as well as government agencies and institutions involved in the adult corrections process. Each entry includes information on name, address, telephone number, contact person, purpose of the group, services and programs, and…

Vocational education programs in America's correctional institutions have been financially handicapped, since security demands the greatest portion of resource allocations. Four eras in the development of the correctional system are generally identified: era of punishment and retribution, era of restraint or reform, era of rehabilitation and…

In October 1999, National Treatment Accountability for Safer Communities (TASC), in cooperation with the Office of Justice Programs, Drug Courts Program Office and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, developed and distributed a questionnaire designed to describe substance abuse…

An evaluation is presented of "Changing Lives Through Literature," a program designed as an alternative to jail. The study followed up the first 32 men to complete the program and compared them to a matched group of 40 probationers. Reconviction rate was favorable. Interview information and other influences on recidivism are considered.…

Describes the boot-camp prison program, its goals, and its drug-treatment and drug-education activities, and its development and change. The article presents the results of a multisite study from eight states that examined the variations in the shock-incarceration concept and its effect. (GLR)

Prison Fellowship Ministries' church and community based Transition of Prisoners (TOP) program in Detroit is examined. TOP mobilizes, trains, and equips primarily African-American churches and volunteers to assist ex-offenders to successfully reintegrate into their community. Preliminary outcome data suggest that participation in TOP reduces need…

Rehabilitation programs for adult violent offending are still novel, and few published studies examine the recidivism outcomes of those who complete such programs. This study describes a New Zealand prison program for high-risk violent men. The program is intensive and cognitive behavioral. Preliminary outcome data are presented for three indices…

Evaluations of programs effective in improving ex-offenders' educational scores, helping them find permanent jobs, and reducing recidivism are reviewed. There is evidence that full-time, relatively well-paid employment can help reduce recidivism, thereby reducing costs of incarceration. Assessments are limited but promising; replicating selected…

The Wilderness Experience is an innovative, experiential program under New Mexico's Statewide Forensic Treatment System for mentally disordered first offenders and those soon to be released on parole or probation. Developed from the concepts of Outward Bound, criminal offenders undergo an intensive 17-21 day confrontation with their physical,…

The evaluation of the effectiveness of the classes for persons convicted of driving while intoxicated was based largely on analyses of verbal behaviors of participants and instructors, using the psychosocial theories of Erik Erikson. The established goals of the course emphasize that the information must be dealt with in a group situation where…