NCJ Number
74103
Date Published
Unknown
Length
37 pages
Annotation
The State of Oregon's Project Newgate, a demonstration project created by the Office of Economic Opportunity with the Division of Corrections at the Oregon State Penitentiary, is described; program background, statistics, and concepts are emphasized.
Abstract
Oregon's Project Newgate sought to overcome deficiencies in correctional institutions generally with and special regard to reduction of recidivism rates. Primary reasons for the 60 to 80 percent failure rate with inmates include inadequate support for the individual after leaving prison and lack of encouragement in attaining higher education. Project Newgate thus combined counseling, group therapy, college study, and financial assistance into a coherent program of movement from the status of convict to college student to community member. The in-prison educational phase of the project was conducted on a year-round basis, coordinated with the academic calendar of the Oregon State system of higher education. Academic counseling and career planning services were provided continuously, and each student met weekly with his group and therapist. Successful completion of the inside phase was determined through academic progress, sincerity, and length of time remaining on the inmate's sentence. As the inmate continued into the outside phase of the program, he moved through school release, parole, or discharge. Inside students usually moved into the outside phase through school release, in which they lived in a vacated fraternity house supervised by a representative of the Division of Corrections. To date, a total of 250 persons have been released to attend colleges and universities in pursuit of bachelor's degrees. Inmates applying to participate in the project were evaluated in terms of the nature of the present conviction, prior convictions, age relative to expressed goals, intelligence, self-concept, interpersonal relationships, and emotional stability. Data on students and newspaper clippings are appended to the report.