THE METHODOLOGY WAS ESTABLISHED BY THE FEDERAL GUIDELINES MANUAL PUBLISHED BY LEAA. DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS PRISON ADMISSION DATA WERE ANALYZED TO DETERMINE IF ANY OF THE EX-INMATES WERE READMITTED WITHIN FOUR TIME CATEGORIES FROM THE DATA OF THEIR RELEASE. OFFENDER RECOMMITMENT DATA WAS LIMITED TO 30 MONTHS FOLLOWUP. AS PER LEAA REQUIREMENTS, ALL TYPES OF READMISSIONS WERE INCLUDED IN THE STUDY REGARDLESS OF WHETHER A NEW OFFENSE WAS INVOLVED OR NOT. THEREFORE, A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF OFFENDERS RELEASED UNDER COMMUNITY SUPERVISION, WHO WERE RETURNED FOR TECHNICAL VIOLATIONS, WERE INCLUDED. THE FOLLOWING RESULTS WERE OBTAINED: (1) OF THE 4,514 INMATES RELEASED DURING 1973, 17.7 PERCENT WERE READMITTED TO PRISON WITHIN 30 MONTHS; (2) OF THE 4,396 INMATES RELEASED IN 1974, 16.5 PERCENT WERE READMITTED WITHIN 30 MONTHS; AND (3) OF THE 3,871 INMATES RELEASED IN 1975. 12.1 PERCENT WERE READMITTED TO PRISON WITHIN 30 MONTHS. PAROLES ACCOUNTED FOR THE GREATEST PROPORTION OF RELEASES IN THE YEARS EXAMINED AND THE GREATEST NUMBER OF RECOMMITMENTS. OF ALL READMISSIONS, 64 PERCENT FOR 1973, 67 PERCENT FOR 1974, AND 44 PERCENT FOR 1975 WERE PAROLEES. MANDATORY CONDITIONAL RELEASE ACCOUNTED FOR THE SMALLEST NUMBER OF RELEASES IN THE YEARS STUDIED, YET THE RELATIVE PROPORTION OF RECOMMITMENTS REPRESENTED BY THIS GROUP INDICATED THAT THESE OFFENDERS WERE MORE LIKELY TO RETURN TO PRISON THAN THOSE PAROLED OR RELEASED BY EXPIRATION OF SENTENCE. THE STUDY IS CONSISTENT WITH ANNUAL REPORT STATISTICS THAT SHOW APPROXIMATELY 20 PERCENT OF ANNUAL ADMISSIONS HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY COMMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT. TABULAR DATA ARE INCLUDED. (MJW)