Using A Stratified Sampling Method

There were a total of 41 surveys completed. Thirty one were completed at the juvenile jail (name of facility) and 9 more completed either at the (name) receiving center or at the NAACP office. The initial 32 participants incarcerated either had a pending court date or were already convicted. The other 9 participants had been

The research project findings “Indicate that the length of time in treatment is related to treatment success, that is, improvement in pro-social behaviors, lower rates of arrests, convictions, and incarcerations. (Field, 1989)

In a fight to reduce overcrowding, improve public health and public safety, and reduce the costs of criminal justice and corrections, federal, state and local leaders are constantly looking for alternatives to incarceration. A number of strategies have been put in place to save public funds and improve public health by keeping low-risk, non-violent, possibly drug-involved offenders out of prison or jail while still holding them accountable and securing the safety of our comminutes. These programs have been put in place to help those who don’t necessarily need to be in jail, get their priorities straight while also holding them accountable for their actions. They have been put in place to help reduce incarceration rates, but also help those who may have mental health issues or substance abuse issues that have caused them to make bad decisions (Treatment Court Divisions).

The primary interest within the independent variable is to determine whether participation in drug courts decreases the probability of recidivism. To evaluate this concern, the current study will analyze whether receiving treatment in a drug court versus the comparison group of probationers will affect various outcomes. Finally, gender, race, age, and education will also be included in the analysis as control variables.

At any given time, there are approximately 2 million American citizens incarcerated and nearly 700,000 inmates returning to their communities each year. (Petitt & Western, 2004; Western, 2001). Since most prisoners are eventually released, mass incarceration has in turn produced a steep rise in the number of individuals reentering society and undergoing the process of social and economic reintegration. (Travis, 2005). During the period between 1982 and 2007, the number of Americans incarcerated in jails and prisons increased by 274% (Pew Center on the States, 2009). In addition to the increase of the individuals incarcerated, there is an even larger amount of individuals under community supervision, with a recent study finding that one in every 48 American adults are either on probation or parole on any given day (Glaze & Bonczar, 2011). Recent statistics show that the percentage of parolees re-incarcerated after release currently stands at 32% (Maruschak and Parks, 2012).

This study is considered causal-comparative. The participants were questioned within 7 days of arriving to a residential program after their consent was given. Each participant was paid $10 to provide demographic information

This data is based on public meetings, hearing from victims, correctional experts, organizations, and citizens around the state. The data that was gathered help develop strategies to reduce spending on corrections, and reinvest in public safety (Justice Reinvestment in Maryland). Maryland developed the Maryland Justice Reinvestment Act in Bipartisan with 26 other states that changed or amended earlier policies adopted from the war on drugs. The JRA aimed to reduce Maryland’s prison population and to use the savings to focus on rehabilitation as opposed to incarceration (Smoot). The JRA made changes to Maryland’s sentencing, release, and supervision policies. First, this act reduces the maximum penalty time for convictions on drug distribution charges. Second, this act repeals mandatory sentences for nonviolent drug crimes. Finally, this act offers sanctions for parole and probation violators rather than reincarceration

Creating this program and seeing that the offenders followed through with the treatment process was the primary goal. In order to collect the necessary data, counselors needed to interview each participate. This procedure is what enabled them to understand better and further assist participants with treatment and remaining on the correct path. The interview process took place 12 months after offenders were released from prison. A research team from the university of

The community supervision population (including probationers and parolees, down 1.5%) and the incarcerated population (including local jail inmates and federal and state prisoners, down 1.3%) decreased at about the same rate in 2011. (Glaze and Parks 2012, p. 1) Both the correctional population and community supervision (probation and parole) dropped for three years in a row. Another conclusion that can be drawn from the reports are that the decrease in probation and the decline in correctional population

At intake, all inmates are assessed for mental illness, potential mental health issues, need for treatment, and to identify inmates who are likely to be a danger to themselves or others (Adams & Ferrandino, 2008). The risk assessment process is an important factor in placing inmates within the facility and should be assessed thoroughly by a trained staff member. Monahan (1996) asserts that actuarial models are more accurate than clinical models and should therefore be used to determine who is more likely to be violent and should take the place of clinical approaches. However, Banks, Robbins, Silver, Vesselinov, Steadman, Monahan, and Roth (2004) used a multi-test approach, where several instruments were used to assess offenders rated as high or low risk. The idea is that several instruments are used to assess at an individual level rather than a group level, in turn providing a more accurate probability of risk of offending. The assessment process is an important tool to assess each of the special inmate populations throughout their sentence of incarceration. Each correctional facility within the state of Florida will provide drug and alcohol counseling

There are many various risk prediction scales that are being use to assess offenders. By using these risk assessments on offenders we are able to determine whether the offender is a high, medium, or low risk to the society. The Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) is an assessment that consists of a series of questions that are answered by the offender. LSI-R uses all of the following factors “criminal history, education/employment, financial, family, accommodation, leisure, companions, alcohol/drug problems, emotional/personal, and attitudes” (LSI-R, 2015) when assessing an offender. With the score generated from the LSI-R and opinions from correction professional we can determine whether the offender risk of recidivism is high,

In 2012 doctors performed a study on the prevalence of substance use and serious mental illnesses such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia in incarcerated women. There were a total 491 participants from prisons in Colorado, Idaho, Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina. These participant’s ages ranged from 17 to 62 and about 75% of these women were mothers of children under the age of 18. One in five women had been incarcerated for two weeks or less and about half of them had been incarcerated for less than five weeks. The occurrence of mental disorders in this study was higher than they thought it would be. They found that there was no major difference in the percentages of women from rural and urban locations.

Convenience sample of male parolees from prison or jail (600) participating in a residential drug treatment program

The researches conducted face-to-face interviews with 41 people, 16 of whom were inmates. The first round of interviews was in 2012. The researcher asked participants for their views about the program more specifically, what their thoughts were on the strengths and weakness of the program. The second round of research began in 2013 but had a different approach, more of a narrative approach. Several months after the first rounds of evaluation, the staff decided that the institution should be closed and that only inmates deemed ready for the experience should be invited to participate. After deciding this they ran screening interviews with potential participants, many of whom had attended the initial group. Based on the interviews the staff chose a group of inmates who were read to accept responsibility for what they had done and to learn more about the effects of their crimes. All of the participants chosen were by

2. The characteristics and backgrounds of the people served by this program are diverse populations, underserved, at-risk adolescents and delinquent juveniles between the ages of 11 and 18 including their families. These individuals lacked resources, were a challenge to help, and appeared unmotivated to change. A common factor these underserved populations held together were upon entrance to social services individuals expressed emotions of anger, hopelessness, and resistance to treatment.