Digital Commons Network^™

Rise Up Industries And The Challenge Of Reentry For Formerly Incarcerated Individuals, Andrew Blum

Kroc IPJ Research and Resources

Rise Up Industries provides reentry services and support to formerly incarcerated individuals who were previously in gangs through an intensive job training program, offered alongside a holistic set of support services. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice Executive Director, Andrew Blum, provides a deeper understanding of this approach and the results it has produced to date, while situating it in the context of other initiatives focused on reentry and reducing recidivism.

This case study concludes that RUI’s reentry program is a promising approach and likely makes a small-scale contribution to solving a very hard problem – successfully fostering the reentry …

Final Evaluation Of La Door: Proposition 47 Grant Program, Melissa M Labriola, Danielle Sobol, Stephanie Brooks Holliday, Heather Sims

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The Los Angeles Diversion, Outreach, and Opportunities for Recovery program (LA DOOR) was designed by the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office (LACA) to provide a comprehensive, health-focused, preventative approach that proactively engages individuals at elevated risk of returning to LACA on a new misdemeanor offense related to substance use, mental illness, or homelessness. LA DOOR was funded through the grant program of Proposition 47. Programs funded through Proposition 47 are intended to serve individuals with a history of criminal justice involvement and mental health issues or substance use disorders and to offer mental health services, substance use disorder treatment, and …

Psychosocial And Neuroprediction Of Criminal Recidivism In A Sample Of Adult Female Offenders, Bethany G. Edwards

Psychology ETDs

Recidivism is costly and damaging to society. Despite the narrowing gender gap in the criminal justice system, research on female recidivism falls behind that in males. Biopsychosocial theories suggest a combination of psychosocial and neurobiological factors likely promotes criminal risk in females. This study examined the utility of various risk factors in predicting recidivism in female offenders (n = 298). Results highlight specific psychosocial risk factors (i.e., impulsive/antisocial psychopathic traits, incarceration history, substance use, education, and age) that were especially helpful in identifying females at elevated risk. A particularly novel aspect of this study was incorporation of structural and functional …

Secondary School Administrators, Teachers, And Students' Perspectives On Reducing Recidivism In Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs, Chrissell Rhone

Dissertations

This mixed-methods study sought to explore student and staff perspectives on what led students to return to or remain in DAEPs for longer than they were assigned. The researcher reviewed literature related to the history of alternative education programs, placement policies, and alternative school practices. This researcher obtained permission from two schools in a rural county in a southern state. Qualtrics was used to collect all quantitative data. Data was collected using questionnaires and focus groups. The quantitative component of this study was employed so that students could maintain anonymity and honestly respond without feeling pressured or intimidated. Student data …

Mental Illness, Substance Use, And Co-Occurring Disorders Among Jail Inmates: Prevalence, Recidivism, And Gender Differences, Nicky Dalbir, Emily M. Wright, Benjamin Steiner

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Mental illnesses, substance use, and their co-occurrence are significant predictors of maladaptive outcomes such as aggression, criminal behavior, and recidivism. These problems are theorized to be more prevalent and problematic among female inmates than male inmates and may be more relevant in jail settings. However, few studies have examined the relationship between these factors, including gender differences among the jail population. This study seeks to fill these gaps by examining – a) the prevalence of these problems, b) their effects on recidivism, and c) gender differences in these relationships – among jail inmates. Results indicate that mental illness significantly increased …

Beyond The Revolving Door: Reducing The Risks Of Recidivism So African American Male Youth Not Only Survive But Thrive, Kristy O. Yanney

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

This capstone project aims to reduce the recidivism rates for Black male youth. With 20 years of professional experience in law enforcement, and through the research and literature of this project, I have found that environmental influences contribute to the arrest, incarceration, and rearrest of African American juvenile offenders. These youth are often forced to figure out how to survive in environments that provide tremendous challenges. Adverse childhood experiences, the influence of gangs, poverty, rising rates of violence, lack of quality educational or employment opportunities, substance abuse, and negative family influences are some of the environmental factors that will be …

Breaking | Grounding | Growing: Expanding The Rhode Island Gardening Reentry Programs As A Pathway Towards Stability, Juliana Soltys

Masters Theses

What happens to the over two million people incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails?

Changing in sentencing laws and policies have created a cycle of imprisonment, racially isolating and oppressing BIPOC communities. Reintegration and reentry programs are an avenue to break the cycle of recidivism. Through my work, I have developed hands-on, structured opportunities for justice-involved adults to rebuild a life for themselves by increasing the accessibility of gardening reentry programs. This project creates a space for mentorship and support for Rhode Island’s formerly incarcerated people with the goal of helping them to develop vital life skills through growing and …

Intellectual Disability, Risk, And Recidivism In An American Sample Of Incarcerated Sexual Offenders, Perry A. Callahan

Student Theses

Research suggests that intellectual disabilities (ID) are prevalent among people who sexually offend. Those with ID may differ from their non-disabled counterparts with regard to risk factors associated with recidivism. Additionally, actuarial measures of risk, which are used to make determinations on sentencing and civil commitment, appear to differ in their predictive accuracy among individuals with and without ID. Despite this, little data exists on recidivism in this population, particularly among incarcerated individuals in the United States. The present study sought to compare individuals with and without ID on rates of re-offense, actuarial risk scores, and rates of civil commitment. …

Problematic Ai — When Should We Use It?, Fredric Lederer

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Impacts Of Post-Incarceration Programming For Women's Lives And Local Communities, Megan Greenslade

Sociology and Criminology Undergraduate Honors Theses

Previous research on reentry programming has focused mostly on male inmates and less attention is given to female inmates. In Arkansas, where female reentry rates have recently increased, research is needed to add to the conversation surrounding effective programming for previously justice-involved women, its impact on their lives and behaviors, and how this can influence the likelihood of recidivism. This qualitative study also aims to discover whether reentry programming can have a positive impact on the local community. Residents and staff at a local Northwest Arkansas transitional housing facility for previously justice-involved women were interviewed to analyze the effects of …

Combating Recidivism, Shaylin Daley

Senior Honors Projects

SHAYLIN DALEY (Psychology) Combating Recidivism Sponsor: Lisa Holley (Political Science) Many people believe that criminals cannot be helped. It is evident that at least some of society shuns people who break laws and have negative views about the amount of money spent on detaining inmates. Thousands of individuals are released from United States prisons a day. Many of these individuals have no plan in place for their return home and are sent into the streets with nothing except for a jail ID. Most of these people will end up returning to prison. A good sum of these people face problems …

Participant Perceptions Of Project Rebound: A Qualitative Study, Martin Johnson

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Many formerly incarcerated (FI) individuals choose education to increase the chances of success and lower recidivism. Various interventions like mentoring and reentry programs help alleviate challenges and promote the success of FI students. One reentry program that offers educational and case management services to FI students is Project Rebound (PR). An initiative of the California State University system, PR seeks to enhance student success through support and connections with campus and community resources. However, there is a lack of research on PR's effectiveness. This study attempted to fill this literature gap by exploring the question: How do Project Rebound participants …

The Privatization Of The Prison System In The United States: A Comparative Study Of Rehabilitative Resources, Wendi Witherell

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Facing high rates of mass incarceration and prison overcrowding, the United States of America seems to believe that the privatization of its prison system could be a viable solution to the aforementioned problems. Despite the increased incarceration rates of the past few decades, the gradual privatization of the prison system is an understudied area. It is therefore important to understand the rationale behind the movement away from the public sector toward the private sector. This cross-sectional study adopted three theoretical approaches—Models of Incarceration Theory, Political Explanation Theory, and Overcrowding Theory—in an attempt to determine such rationale. It was hypothesized there …

Youth Empowerment: Case Study And Learning Strategy, Andrew Blum, Nohelia Ramos

Kroc IPJ Research and Resources

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is invested in preventing violence and reducing recidivism. To achieve these objectives, PSN has committed to supporting lived experience mentoring, often called credible messenger mentoring, through grants made to community organizations in San Diego and Imperial Counties.

This document consists of two separate research products that align with these two objectives. The first is a case study of Youth Empowerment. The case study has several goals: first, to document the work of Youth Empowerment and allow others to learn in a detailed way about lived experience programming; second, to place the …

A Scoping Review: Trauma Informed Care For Justice Involved Youth To Decrease Recidivism, Tamika Beecham, Marissa Gray, Shelby Husband, Diana Dedmon Dnp, Fnp, Bc

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Purpose The purpose of this scoping review was to address trauma-informed care, juvenile justice systems, and recidivism rates. The literature review conducted identified key research and analysis of effective trauma-informed treatment methodologies, referrals, and accessibility of care for justice-involved youth, and the rate change of recidivism related to trauma-informed treatment and interventions.

Background The high rates of recidivism in the juvenile court systems matched with the increased prevalence of psychological trauma in justice-involved youth represent the need for implementing trauma informed care. The scoping review analyzed the research implementing the intervention of trauma informed care to determine if it resulted …

Evaluating The New York State Bail Reform Act: What Impact Does It Have On Law Enforcement?, Nicholas Cole

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

No abstract provided.

Reformation Within The Nation: Adapting The Nordic Rehabilitation And Reintegration Model To Positively Recondition The United States Criminal Justice System, Jessica Cornell

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

An analytical and statistical based comparison of criminal sentencing, incarceration, rehabilitation and reintegration in the United States of America to those of the five countries which follows those of the Nordic Criminal Justice System.

Stigma Towards Offenders Diagnosed With Mental Illness, Christina N. Yocca

Student Theses

Mental health stigma is a key factor to what makes members of the community who are diagnosed with mental illness feel like outcasts to the “normal” population. This study investigated the relationship between right-winged beliefs and offenders diagnosed with mental illness. Sigma as it relates to mental health, offenders, and right-winged beliefs have been studied separately before, but there is a lack of information on the stigma that the public has towards offenders who struggle with their mental health and the possible predictors of stigma towards this group. Overall, this study aimed to further research in the intersectionality of stigmatized …

The Significance Of Trauma In The Relationship Between Co-Occurring Disorders And Recidivism Among Participants Of A Community Mental Health's Jail Diversion Program, Emily A. Schott

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Abstract Individuals with a psychiatric diagnosis have higher levels of criminal justice involvement compared to the general population. Multiple programs have been developed through grant monies utilizing various models to allow these individuals to be linked to mental health services in the community for the treatment of symptoms which may contribute to recidivism. These programs are designed to provide an encounter with mental health professionals who collaborate with law enforcement and other agencies to intercept these individuals at various points of justice involvement and possibly prevent further entanglements with the legal system. This study explores how trauma may impact justice …

The Family Connection: Examining The Transitional Impact On Family Members Of Returning Citizens Reentering Society, Leon Rankins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to define and measure more extensively the personal barriers of family members of returning citizens recently released from incarceration in the United States. Also sought was examining the returning citizen's family members' perspectives of their issues relating to their loved ones in the reintegration process and how their challenges and barriers impacted their desire to provide transitional support to the returning citizen. The theory guiding this study is Bowen's family system theory as it suggests that individuals cannot be understood in isolation from one another, but rather as a part of their …

The Relationship Between Shame Proneness And Guilt Proneness, Counseling, And Recidivism In Incarcerated Individuals, Tristin Corrine Galvez

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The growing rate of individuals being incarcerated is an ongoing concern within the United States, and more so with an increase in recidivism rates. Shame and guilt are two forms of emotions that can occur due to multiple factors that could influence recidivism. Each emotion can have a different effect on an individual depending on the incident that occurred. Jails and prisons have been seen as a lucrative business that fails to provide the necessary services to reduce recidivism. Counseling could be utilized as an intervention for individuals who are currently or previously incarcerated. Having counseling in place can help …

Blurring The "Bright Line": Examining Age-Related Differences In Jail Incarceration Outcomes Using A Resources-Challenges Model Of Emerging Adulthood, Olive F. Lu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Jail incarceration represents an early and prevalent point of contact with the criminal legal system. While there is some evidence of age-related differences in jail incarceration outcomes such as rearrest and reconvictions, existing research typically only make comparisons between adults and adolescents. This bifurcation ignores the unique experiences of a third group: emerging adults aged 18 to 25. Evidence from developmental research combined with shifting social and cultural dynamics suggest that 18-25-year-olds, though adults by law, straddle the line between adolescence and adulthood while facing challenges that set them apart.

The current study incorporates a resources-challenges framework of emerging adulthood …

Positive Psychology - A Cross-Cultural Comparison Of Correctional Systems, Denitsa Kaneva

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This paper analyzes and compares the effectiveness of the correctional systems in the United States of America and Europe, with some emphasis on Scandinavia. To make the comparison, I looked at previous research on the correctional systems in the United States and Europe. I reviewed articles from PsycInfo EBSCO Host and Google Scholar. The main points of comparison used are recidivism rates and rehabilitation services offered by the prisons in different countries. The results of this comparison show that countries that offer better rehabilitation services in the prison system, like Scandinavian countries, have lower recidivism rates than the United States, …

Resilience Of Former Offenders Released From A Halfway House, Tasha Andrea Pritchett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Former offenders confront a myriad of obstacles that often lead to re-offending and return to prison. Re-offending also creates financial and social burdens for taxpayers. There is some evidence that the consequences of incarceration for offenders can be buffered through resilience. Factors that promote resilience can be personal (internal) and environmental (external), and may directly or indirectly affect offenders’ adaptation, well-being, and development as they transition out of prison. The purpose of the study was to explore the narratives of resilience in adult males who have transitioned from halfway houses to mainstream society. Richardson’s metatheory of resilience and resiliency was …

Black Males Incarcerated And The Effect Upon Children Left Behind, Cathy Marie Crutchfield

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Black men in the United States have been disproportionately removed from the lives of their families by means of incarceration for generations. Aggressive drug laws, racist policing strategies, and sentence disparities are contributing factors. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine how formerly incarcerated Black males perceived their incarceration affected the children they left behind while incarcerated. The research sample consisted of six former offenders. Each participant was at least eighteen years of age, Black, a parent at the time of incarceration, and a resident of Guilford County, NC, at the time of the offense. Each participant …

Society’S Perception Of Former Offender’S Impact On Housing Accommodation Options, Fealita Kimbre Prunty

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study was designed to explore United States societal members’ perception of the term offender and crime type concerning post-incarceration housing accommodations in the United States. Housing is an essential need for offenders re-entering society and can contribute to recidivism rates. The purpose of this study was to explore United States adult societal members’ perception of the term offender and crime type concerning post-incarceration housing accommodations in the United States. This study included a parallel mixed-method design inspired by Teddlie and Tashakkori. The theoretical framework incorporated Becker’s labeling theory. This study examined the United States adult societal members’ perception of …

Restorative Justice And Recidivism In Formerly Incarcerated Women, Alfeia B. Devaughn-Goodwin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study explored the experiences of nonviolent women offenders over the age of 50 of all ethnicities who were formerly incarcerated and their involvement with restorative justice and recidivism from a public policy perspective. Although there was prior research on reentry of ex-offenders, the problem was that few studies focused on the barriers and success factors of reentry services for older female ex-offenders 50 years or older. The purpose of the study was to explore restorative justice and recidivism in formerly incarcerated women who were nonviolent offenders in an East Coast state with a focus on the barriers and success …

The Introduction Of Veteran Service Organizations To The State Of Montana’S Department Of Corrections, Zachary C. Rehm

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Veteran Service Organizations (VSO) exist throughout the United States and serve veterans, service members, dependents, and survivors. Some VSOs provide programming for veterans in their communities, such as job fairs, organizing fundraising events, raising awareness around the issues affecting veterans, assisting in the application process, and assisting in rehabilitation efforts. The American Legion specifically was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a 'patriotic veterans organization'. Since its conception, the Legion stands at nearly 2 million in membership, scattered throughout 13,000 posts worldwide. Most recent studies from the Justice of Bureau Statistics indicate that 8% of all incarcerated inmates are United …

Juvenile Recidivism Risk Factors From The Juvenile Justice Professional Perspective, Fotini Stamidis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Juvenile crime and recidivism have devastated Baltimore City, Maryland, especially in the quality of life and social bond, producing fear in the city’s communities. The current situation is increasing the need to promote a better understanding of juvenile recidivism and delinquency of the risk factors causing juveniles to re-offend. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to add to the knowledge base on juvenile recidivism risk factors from the perspectives of juvenile justice professionals. Hirschi’s social bond theory was used to explore juvenile justice professionals’ experiences and perspectives on recidivism risk factors. Research questions focused on the perceptions of …

The Statistical Significance Of Juvenile Delinquency And Learning Disabilities, Collette Erica Scandrett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Juvenile delinquency and recidivism have been consistent issues that seem to continually produce substantial numbers. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine learning disabilities among juveniles and determine their statistical significance to delinquency and recidivism. Durkheim’s theory of anomie and Merton’s anomie/strain theory were used as the theoretical framework to guide the study. Archived cases for 15,900 juveniles, 2,633 of whom were learning disabled, were collected from the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and the South Carolina Department of Education. To provide additional context, age, race, and sex were also analyzed. Chi-square tests were used to analyze …