NCJ Number
238908
Journal
Journal of Correctional Education Volume: 63 Issue: 1 Dated: April 2012 Pages: 69-89
Date Published
April 2012
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This study examined the ability for Indiana's correctional education programs to reduce recidivism rates among offenders.
Abstract
In order to examine the effect of correctional education on post-release employment and recidivism, the Education Division of the Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) has established a study group of 1,077 offenders and a comparison group of 1,078 offenders to evaluate the outcome measures (e.g, post-release recidivism). All offenders in the study group attended a variety of correctional education programs while incarcerated in IDOC facilities, while all offenders in the comparison group did not participate in correctional education programs. The results of this study demonstrate that an offender who has not attended correctional education programs during incarceration is approximately 3.7 times more likely to become a recidivist offender after release from IDOC custody when compared with an offender who has participated in a variety of correctional education program during incarceration. The recidivism rate is 29.7 percent among offenders in the group who attended a variety of correctional education programs. On the contrary, the recidivism rate reached 67.8 percent among offenders in the comparison group who did not attend correctional education programs during incarceration. This study's results imply that correctional education programs may serve as an important mechanism in reducing the recidivism among released offenders, which, in turn, will significantly reduce the incarceration expenses that are associated with recidivist offenders. (Published Abstract)