NCJ Number
59470
Date Published
1979
Length
61 pages
Annotation
SUCCESS OF THE MUTUAL AGREEMENT PROGRAM (MAP) IN WISCONSIN FOR 1975 THROUGH 1977 IS EVALUATED THROUGH ANALYSIS OF PAROLE FOLLOWUP OUTCOMES; THE MAP EFFECT ON LENGTH OF TIME SERVED IS HIGHLIGHTED.
Abstract
CURRENT MAP ELIGIBILITY STANDARDS QUALIFY A VARIETY OF INSTITUTIONAL RESIDENTS AS POTENTIAL USERS OF THE PROGRAM. RESIDENTS, REGARDLESS OF LENGTH OF SENTENCE OR TYPE OF OFFENSE, ARE ELIGIBLE AT SOME POINT DURING THEIR INCARCERATION TO PREPARE A CONTRACT UP TO A DURATION OF 3 YEARS. THIS EVALUATION RESEARCH IS PERFORMED IN A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL MODEL OF ANALYSIS. COMPARISON GROUP ASSIGNMENTS OCCUR THROUGH NATURAL SELECTION DURING RESIDENTS' INCARCERATION, THUS ACCOMMODATING ELIGIBILITY STANDARDS. FROM INFORMATION OBTAINED THROUGH A MONTHLY RELEASE LISTING AND COMPARED WITH THE MAP STATISTICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM, RESIDENTS WERE ASSIGNED TO THE VARIOUS STATISTICAL GROUPS AS THEY WERE RELEASED FROM THE INSTITUTION. DATA ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT RESIDENTS PARTICIPATING IN THE MAP PROGRAM AND RELEASED AFTER COMPLETING CONTRACT CONDITIONS PROBABLY SERVED LESS TIME THAN IF THEY HAD BEEN RELEASED THROUGH THE REGULAR PAROLE PROCESS. RESIDENTS RELEASED IN 1976 VIA MAP HAD A LENGTH OF STAY REDUCTION OF 4.82 PERCENT; STAY REDUCTION FOR 1977 MAP RELEASES WAS 6.78 PERCENT. THE 1-YEAR FOLLOWUP OUTCOME REPORTS FOR RESIDENTS RELEASED VIA MAP IN 1975 AND 1976 DID NOT SHOW SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER SUCCESSFUL OUTCOMES THAN THE NON-MAP COUNTERPARTS. IN OTHER PAROLE OUTCOME RESULTS, MARGINAL DIFFERENCES WERE FOUND. THUS, THE OUTCOME SUCCESS OF MAP RELEASES WAS EQUIVALENT TO THE NON-MAP COMPARISONS GROUP. STATISTICAL TABULAR DATA AND APPENDIXES OF DATA ANALYSIS AND QUESTIONNAIRE FORMS ARE INCLUDED IN THE REPORT. (LWM)