NCJ Number
128399
Date Published
Unknown
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The Hampden County Day Reporting Center in Springfield, Mass., serves as the final phase in a continuum of community reintegration for inmates.
Abstract
The center supervises and counsels men and women who are within 4 months of their parole or sentence termination date. Day reporting participants are still incarcerated, although not in the traditional sense. Participants have earned their way to the day reporting program to spend the final months of their sentences living at home and participating in the community while being monitored and supported by center staff. Residents already housed in the Hampden County Pre-Release Center or Western Massachusetts Correctional Alcohol Center, who work and participate in treatment programs, are eligible for day reporting as they near their release dates. The Day Reporting Center does not serve as a diversion program; no candidates are taken into the program from the courts. Once accepted into the program after serving a portion of their sentences in a secure setting, participants go through a 3-week alcohol and drug education treatment program designed for offenders with significant abuse problems (Educating Recovering Alcoholics). This program also provides education on AIDS, employment, and men's and women's issues. If the 3-week program is not needed, participants go through a 1-week program designed for short-term offenders and those with less significant substance abuse problems (New Directions). Both programs involve family participation, as well as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. The Day Reporting Center uses a phased system as an incentive for clients and employs a passive system of electronic monitoring. Urinalysis tests are administered regularly. Program statistics indicate that community reintegration through lesser security at the end of sentences lowers recidivism. 2 references