This study examined reincarceration records for 394 non-violent offenders in Texas during the 3 years following prison to assess the efficacy of in-prison therapeutic community (TC) programming.
Sociodemographic information for all study participants was abstracted from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutional Division database and included gender, age, ethnicity, education level, and criminal history. The Salient Factor Score was used to assess the severity of an inmate's crime and drug-related problems and to provide an estimate of the relative probability of recidivism after release from prison. The study sample was based on 291 follow-up eligible parolees who completed the TC program. Those who completed both TC and aftercare were the least likely to be reincarcerated (25 percent), compared to 64 percent of aftercare dropouts and 42 percent of untreated comparison groups. Further, high-severity aftercare completers were reincarcerated only half as often as those in aftercare dropout and comparison groups (26 percent versus 66 percent and 52 percent). Findings support the effectiveness of intensive treatment when it is integrated with aftercare, and the benefits are most apparent for offenders with more serious crime and drug-related problems. 22 references, 2 tables, and 1 figure