Research reveals that most incarcerated adults are optimistic about their chances of success after release and believe they will be less likely to reoffend than other prisoners. Moreover, studies suggest that optimism shapes desistance. This raises the interesting question of how and why female inmates maintain an optimistic outlook about their…

Recidivism is on the increase as ex-convicts who are expected by the society to be reformed in prison and reintegrated to lead meaningful lives, only return to crime shortly after their release and find themselves back into prison in spite of the harsh punishment and counselling services received while incarcerated. The study aimed to identify the…

As one of the few qualitative studies on this topic, this phenomenological study examined how parolees experience participation in a community college reentry program. One-on-one interviews were conducted with 11 parolee college students. Major themes found that parolees enjoy the college environment and that they have become role models for their…

Many educators view the process of education as transformative. This transformation is important in all classrooms, but it takes on added importance in prison classrooms. The education that inmates receive in prison can mean the difference between the doorway of freedom with a productive future and the revolving door of recidivism. For many prison…

The results of the Program Evaluation show the OJJ Statewide Sex Offender Treatment program is exceptionally productive in meeting over 90% of its established performance markers. These markers included successful screening and assessment of risk and psychosocial needs, completion of initial and master treatment plans, establishment of sex…

In 1990, The Americans with Disabilities Act ruled that, regardless of age, inmates were entitled to continued special education services in correctional facilities. This qualitative case study identified perceptions of recidivism in incarcerated adolescents with special education needs. In this study the correctional education programs were…

Purpose: There is a strong political imperative to regard the prison as a key social setting for health promotion, but evidence indicates that drug misuse continues to be a significant issue for many prisoners. This paper aims to examine the social and environmental factors within the setting that influence individuals' drug taking.…

This qualitative analysis explores the role of substance abuse in reentry from prison to society. Participants who recidivated (N = 20) in an urban prison system identified substance abuse as their primary reason for recidivism. Treatment implications are discussed.

On a typical day in 2008, 776,573 individuals were behind bars in nearly 3,500 U.S. jails. Yet the potential benefits of social services in achieving lower recidivism rates and successful reintegration are understudied in jail populations. This three-year study investigated the effects of collaboration-based in-jail services and postrelease…

One of the greatest challenges for the juvenile justice system is to successfully reintegrate young offenders back to their communities so that they do not re-offend and return to detention. This challenge is even greater for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth who are over-represented in the Queensland juvenile justice system in…

This study brings to light a neglected topic of particular importance--offender gambling issues within the context of re-entry into the community. Fifteen correctional professionals from Nevada (high gambling availability) and Utah (no legalized gambling) participated in semi-structured interviews to provide insights into how gambling may impact…

People in the United States live in an era of heightened fear of sexual offenders. The general public, especially women, fear sexual assault and for the safety of their children. Federal and state legislation has established stringent sexual offender notification and registration, and residency restriction laws to protect citizens in communities.…

While we know formal education is an important variable for reducing recidivism, there are few prison systems still offering college courses. We introduce the Inviting Convicts to College Program that deploys undergraduate student-teachers as instructors of college level courses inside prisons. The student-teachers are supervised by professors.…

With constraints on budgets everywhere across America, many programs in U S prisons are being closely monitored to determine if costs can be cut and money saved in daily operations. A dramatic example occurred most recently at the College of Southern Nevada where, at a June graduation ceremony for inmates who earned a GED, or a high school…

Over the last four years, the Kentucky correctional system has expanded corrections-based modified therapeutic community treatment from 6 programs to 24 programs. To examine the effectiveness of these programs, the state initiated a systematic treatment outcome study known as the Criminal Justice Kentucky Treatment Outcome Study (CJKTOS). The…