Abstract
The incarceration and recidivism rates in United States jails are marked by high mental health and substance use problems and racial disparity. Nearly 9 million people cycle through approximately 3,500 jails. For this longitudinal study to identify factors predicting recidivism, data came from a study of Allegheny County Jail inmates (N = 301) that concluded in 2008. Eligible participants were adult men, enrolled in jail collaborative services at recruitment, and were 30 days from release. Examinations were based on multinomial logistic regression methods; positive family social support was found to reduce the effect of factors known to predict higher recidivism rates: substance abuse, Black race, and younger age. Negative perceptions of the helpfulness and support of community-based services were counteracted by positive family social support. Policy and practice implications are discussed.
Notes
The authors thank the Allegheny County Jail Collaborative and the Human Service Integration Fund (represented by more than a dozen major philanthropic foundations of the Greater Pittsburgh region) for supporting this study. The astute and facilitating national advisory committee members included Alfred Blumstein and Jonathan Caulkins of Carnegie-Mellon University; Martin Horn of the New York Departments of Correction and Probation; Stephen Ingley, a former president of the American Jail Association; Nancy La Vigne, a senior researcher, Urban Institute, Washington DC; and Calvin Lightfoot, who is a former warden of the Allegheny County Jail and initiated the Allegheny County Jail Collaborative.
The dataset for the original study has been used to produce other peer-reviewed journal articles by these authors.
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