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Grassroots Approach to Reducing Recidivism

NCJ Number
167792
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 58 Issue: 5 Dated: (August 1996) Pages: 96,98-99,186
Author(s)
C Bagley
Date Published
1996
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The Rock County Education and Criminal Addictions Program (RECAP) in the Rock County Jail (Wisconsin) provides an intense 40-hour-a-week program for approximately 40 inmates every 4 months that encompasses GED instruction, an employability skills class, classes in criminal thinking, substance abuse counseling, and group work.
Abstract
If an inmate does not perform adequately in the classroom or on the job, a treatment specialist confronts the issue in group sessions if it is not brought up by the inmates themselves. All instruction is competency-based, and each inmate receives certificates that list skills achieved. The program is conducted in cooperation with Blackhawk Technical College. Evaluation findings show that RECAP clients were approximately two-and-one- half times more likely not to commit a new crime than the control group, and a control group member was approximately five times more likely to be unemployed than a RECAP graduate. Nearly 30 percent of RECAP clients had drug or alcohol problems following release. At intake into the program, 89 percent of the clients had a substance abuse problem.