FY 2011 Second Chance Act Adult Offender Reentry Demonstration Projects: Evaluability Assessment of the Minnesota Department of Corrections High Risk Recidivism Reduction Demonstration Project

• NCJ Number: 243984
• Author(s): Jennifer Hardison Walters; Lindsey Cramer; Lara Markovits; Aaron Horvath
• Date Published: September 2012
• Length: 25 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2012-R2-CX-0032
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Evaluation

Annotation

This study conducted an evaluability assessment (determination of whether a project is a candidate for meaningful evaluation) of the Minnesota Department of Corrections High Risk Recidivism Reduction (HRRR) Demonstration Project, a FY 2011 Second Chance Act (SCA) demonstration site, whose grant-mandated goals are to increase reentry programming for returning prisoners and their families; reduce recidivism of program participants by 50 percent over 5 years, reduce parole violations, and improve reintegration outcomes.

Abstract

The Minnesota Department of Correction's (DOC's) HRRR Demonstration Project aims to reduce recidivism in a high-risk population of parole violators through collaborative case management and the co-location of services supported by DOC and community agency partnerships. The evaluability assessment (EA) team concluded that this program is a strong candidate for an impact evaluation, since it is a stable, well-defined program that has a steady case flow and already has a random assignment process in place. In addition, the EA team recommends conducting a process and implementation evaluation, as well as a recidivism outcome analysis and a cost analysis; however, there are anticipated program and system-wide changes that may impact an evaluation design. These include modifications intended to improve program operations, variable program dosage (data exist to measure this), key staff turnover, and a shrinking pool of eligible offenders that may warrant modification of eligibility criteria. Also, if funding were interrupted, some program components would likely be adversely affected. In describing program operations, this report addresses the target population and the selection and enrollment of participants; pre-release processes and core components; post-release processes and core components; key staff and resources; potential comparison groups in an impact evaluation; and training and technical assistance. A separate section of the report discusses data elements, data sources, systems, and strategies. 4 exhibits and 3 references