NCJ Number
85069
Date Published
1974
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Michigan's experimental parole contract -- an agreement between the parole board, the inmate, and the institution guaranteeing a specific parole data contingent upon completion of an individualized set of objectives -has given the inmates a sense of security about their release dates and made parole criteria more objective.
Abstract
As of March 1974, 1 year after initiation of the pilot phase, 41 of the original 202 cases have had their contracts terminated. Seventeen of these were terminated for serious misconduct within the institution, and another 17 were terminated for escape from minimum security institutions. Only two cases were terminated due to inmates' failures to meet contract objectives. Of the remaining 161 cases, 3 were released by court order, and 27 have been paroled. Seven were released prior to the expiration of their minimum term, and the remaining 20 cases were released in accordance with their contracts at the end of their minimum terms. The evaluation of the experimental phase has focused primarily on service delivery. Generally, the reaction of the receiving institutions has been favorable. Comments from the treatment staff indicate that the full impact of parole contracting is only now beginning to be felt. Some administrative problems are the processing of contract violations, communication between institutions on transfer of contract cases, ensuring uniform review procedures for monitoring progress toward achievement of objectives, and certification of completion of objectives at the conclusion of the contract period. A concentrated effort to follow up individual contract cases from the pilot phase of the program was begun in November 1973. Indications are that men serving under the contract service program are generally more comfortable in the realization that the objectives they must achieve to earn parole are definite.