This report discusses a research study aimed at evaluating the Reentry Services Project, conducted in Minnesota; it describes the research methodology, limitations, and outcomes.
This report discusses a research study aimed at evaluating the Reentry Services Project (RSP), conducted in Minnesota, and designed to begin 30 days before the release from out-of-home placement and to continue for six months following release into the community. The study had the objective of examining the impact of the RSP on juvenile recidivism. In their research, the authors estimated regression models comparing the number of criminal and official contacts with police or the courts, pulled from an electronic Court Services Tracking System, between RSP and comparison group members, controlling for differences in demographics and number of prior charges. The authors found that RSP group members had significantly fewer official and criminal contacts than the comparison group one year after release from out-of-home placement. The authors note that quality of causal evidence presented in their report is low because the program was implemented in only one county and there was no variation in the implementation of the program over time, resulting in their lack of confidence that the estimated effects are attributable to the RSP; other factors are likely to have contributed.