THE STUDY EXAMINED THE RECIDIVISM RATES OF 1138 INDIVIDUALS RELEASED FROM THE INSTITUTIONS IN 1977. OF THESE, 969 (85 PERCENT) WERE NOT RETURNED TO A CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION, WHILE 169 (15 PERCENT) WERE REINCARCERATED WITHIN 1 YEAR. DATA FOR THE STUDY CAME FROM A COMPUTERIZED DATA BASE AND THE FILES OF THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, THE PAROLE BOARD, AND BOARD OF PROBATION. THE DATA WERE COLLECTED AS PART OF A CONTINUING EFFORT TO MEASURE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE STATE'S CORRECTIONAL PROGRAMS SINCE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CORRECTIONAL REFORM ACT OF 1972 WHICH INSTITUTED PRERELEASE CENTERS, THE HOME FURLOUGH PROGRAM, AND WORK AND EDUCATION RELEASE. NEW RESULTS FROM THE 1977 ANALYSIS INCLUDED (1) SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER RECIDIVISM RATES FOR THE CONCORD POPULATION, (2) TOTAL PRIOR INCARCERATIONS AS A DISTINGUISHING VARIABLE BETWEEN RECIDIVISTS AND NONRECIDIVISTS, (3) AND A LOWER RETURN RATE FOR BLACK INMATES THAN FOR WHITES. REDUCTION IN RATES WAS ATTRIBUTED TO THREE MAJOR FACTORS--PARTICIPATION IN THE HOME FURLOUGH PROGRAM, RELEASE FROM A PRERELEASE CENTER, AND THE COMBINED EFFECT OF THE TWO PROGRAMS. RESULTS SHOWED THAT GRADUATED RELEASE PROGRAMS ALONG WITH VARIOUS REINTEGRATIVE EFFORTS ARE GERMANE TO REDUCTION IN RECEDIVISM RATES OF THE INCARCERATED. TABULAR DATA AND FOOTNOTES ARE INCLUDED, AND AN APPENDIX LISTS VARIABLES OF THE STUDY. SEE NCJ 64193 FOR THE STATISTICAL TABLES. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--MJW)