This random controlled trial found that recidivism was not significantly reduced among Illinois prison inmates who transferred to a life skills rehabilitation program. Assessing recidivism and secondary outcomes such as measures of re-arrest, occupational licensing, and post-release neighborhood of residence, the researchers found no major impacts on participants assigned to the Kewanee Life Skills re-entry Center (LSRC), which focuses exclusively on moderate and high re-entry risk male offenders. Individuals under the supervision of the Illinois Department of Corrections who were eligible to transfer to Kewanee were randomly offered the opportunity to transfer (the treatment group) or not (the control group). In qualitative interviews, treatment group participants said Kewanee provided a more humanizing experience that allowed for greater autonomy while also offering the chance to learn skills and tools that could be applied after incarceration. When asked what shaped their re-entry experiences, respondents commonly focused on strong family support. The authors cautioned that the findings are specific to the study population and study setting, adding that the results cannot be generalized to broader populations that do not meet those criteria.
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