Friday, February 02, 2007

More NCJRS Abstracts, Friday, February 2, 2007

AMONG THE LATEST RESEARCH POSTED AT http://www.ncjrs.gov/. CHECK FOR OTHER ARTICLES OF INTEREST THERE AS WELL.

NCJ Number 216821
John Lewis
Correctional Education: Why It is Only "Promising"
Journal of Correctional Education Volume:57 Issue:4 Dated:December 2006 Pages:286 to 296

The research model currently used to evaluate most correctional education (CE) programming is limited to macro-variable assessment, which enhances the plausible threats of internal, statistical conclusion, construct, and external validity. The model has proven to be ineffective in accurately evaluating the impact of CE and vocational training programs. A new research model is suggested that would offer a broader perspective about the plausible effects of CE programs. The current research model for most correctional education is a post-treatment, quasi-experimental design, with one treatment and one control group, where the groups are released from prison and monitored for 1 to 3 years after release to determine the recidivism rate. This survival analysis model evaluates only macro-level variables and often discounts alternative factors which might have caused a CE effect to have been dampened. A more holistic approach, based initially on smaller samples and a qualitative, medical model would permit a social productivity assessment of the effectiveness of various CE and post-release programs. This paper argues for the more holistic approach to evaluate the effects of correctional education programming and a movement away from recidivism as the primary outcome variable. References

NCJ Number: 216822
Eric Lichtenberger
Where Do Ex-Offenders Find Jobs?: An Industrial Profile of the Employers of Ex-Offenders in Virginia
Journal of Correctional Education Volume:57 Issue:4 Dated:December 2006 Pages:297 to 311

From fiscal year 1999 to fiscal year 2003, ex-offenders tended to be employed in five core industries: (1) administrative and support services, (2) construction, (3) accommodation and food services, (4) manufacturing, and (5) retail trade. Focusing on the first fiscal quarter of 2003, the rank ordering of the industries, in terms of the number of ex-offenders hired, was the same. Although employers within the administrative and support services industry hired the most ex-offenders in the first quarter of 2003, employers in the construction and manufacturing industries employed a greater number of ex-offenders on a full-time basis. Ex-offenders are less likely to work in industries composed of occupations that are professional, or require stringent licensing or mandatory background checks, provide needed services to the public, or require significant educational achievement. In the first fiscal quarter of 2003, the two professional industries within Virginia with the greatest number of workers on their payroll were health care and public administration. It would be reasonable to conclude that these same industries would employ the greatest number of ex-offenders. The earning records of ex-offenders provide an informational link to specific employers and have the potential to help determine the extent to which employers, collectively based on industry, have previously hired ex-offenders. This information can potentially be used to aid ex-offenders in the transition process, allowing them to narrow their search for potential employers. Based on an examination of the earnings records of ex-offenders released from Virginia correctional institutions from fiscal year 1999 to 2003, this article provides an industrial profile testing the presumption that most ex-offenders are only able to find employment in low-level occupations, with low rates of job retention and limited customer contact. References

NCJ Number: 216824
Ben Stevenson ; M. D. Roblyer
Using Technology-Based Strategies to Change Drug-Related Attitudes and First-Time Offenders
Journal of Correctional Education Volume:57 Issue:4 Dated:December 2006 Pages:327 to 340

The data indicates that the Intervention Program for Substance Abusers achieved two out of three of its objectives. It appeared that the technology-based strategies not only helped facilitate changes in thinking and behavior, but it also improved methods of disseminating information for a variety of learning styles and increased class participation. The results encourage further research into how technology-based tools might better assist correctional educators in promoting change in participants’ attitudes and behavior. Based on the results, recommendations were developed for enhancing the services provided by the program and include increasing classroom participation by constructing more learning activities, encouraging resource-based learning, and decreasing class size. Recognizing that a solid pretrial drug intervention program is a vital first step in educating first-time offenders about the seriousness of drug abuse and criminal behavior, staff at the Intervention Program for Substance Abusers in Montgomery County, Maryland’s Department of Correction and Rehabilitation decided that better strategies were needed to impress upon the defendants the link between drug and alcohol abuse and their criminal behavior. Video-based simulation techniques and other technology-based strategies were designed to increase the emotional impact and engagement of the educational programs for first-time offenders in the intervention program. This article describes the creation and evaluation of education strategies that use video-based simulation techniques. It examined, implemented, and evaluated these strategies within a series of four drug and alcohol classes. Tables, figures, and references

1 comment:

alcoholism intervention said...

I am specifically glad that a drug or alcoholism intervention is functioning well to serve several substance abusers. If we have more of this in our community, maybe there'll be less addicts and we'll have better societies. Michael, please keep on posting articles of this kind. Thanks.

--eunice