Community Corrections in Colorado: A Study of Program Outcomes and Recidivism, FY00-FY04

• NCJ Number: 217495
• Author(s): Nicole Hetz Burrell; Kim English
• Date Published: May 2006
• Length: 54 pages
• Grant Number(s): D24DB19481
• Sponsoring Agency: Colorado Division of Criminal Justice; Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
• Corporate Author: Colorado Dept of Public Safety
• Sale Source: Colorado Dept of Public Safety
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study evaluated the financial and program outcomes and the recidivism rate of 21,796 offenders who either successfully or unsuccessfully terminated from the community corrections system in Colorado between July 2000 and June 2004.

Abstract

Evaluation of financial outcomes indicated that offenders in halfway houses across Colorado earned over $115 million and paid over $36 million in room and board during fiscal year (FY) 2000 and FY 2004. Halfway house residents also paid over $2.6 million in State taxes and approximately $6.7 million in Federal taxes during the same period. Evaluation of program outcomes indicated that successful completion rates ranged between 39.6 percent and 72.8 percent across 30 halfway houses. Approximately 63 percent of offenders successfully completed their halfway house stay between FY 2000 and FY 2003. However, between FY 2003 and FY 2004, the successful completion rate dropped to 56 percent. Diversion clients had a 58.8 percent success rate between FY 2000 and FY 2003, while transition clients had a success rate of 67.2 percent for the same period. However, during FY 2004, the success rate dropped to 52.2 percent for diversion clients and dropped to 60.1 percent for transition clients. It is likely that FY 2003 State budget cuts directly affecting offenders played a significant role in the reduction of success rates. Offenders most likely to be successful in community corrections programs were older, employed, educated, and had lower criminal history scores. Recidivism rates, defined as a new misdemeanor or felony court filing within 12 and 24 months of successful program completion, were low. Of all offenders who successfully completed community corrections during the study period, 85 percent were crime-free after 12 months and 75 percent were crime-free after 24 months. The report offers 14 recommendations to improve community corrections in Colorado. Evaluation data were drawn from the Office of Community Corrections and from the Criminal Justice Analytic Support System. Figures, tables, footnotes, appendixes