Beyond Recidivism: Identifying Additional Measures of Success for Special Offenders Programs

Pages181-196
Date08 August 2005
Published date08 August 2005
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1016/S0196-1152(05)12009-2
AuthorAnne Marie Coté,Kimberly A. Mahaffy
BEYOND RECIDIVISM:
IDENTIFYING ADDITIONAL
MEASURES OF SUCCESS FOR
SPECIAL OFFENDERS PROGRAMS
Anne Marie Cote
´and Kimberly A. Mahaffy
ABSTRACT
Recidivism is often used to measure the success of the criminal justice
initiatives. We explore alternate measures of success that were identified
for special offenders through the development of program theory. Using
content analysis of 50 closed files from the Special Offenders Services
program in Lancaster County, PA, we found that most offenders com-
pleted the program without re-offending, maintained their medication,
participated in counseling, fulfilled their court cost obligations, and had
few housing transitions. However, there were differences between parolees
and probationers in terms of their outcomes. We recommend that special
offender programs use uniform data-recording procedures.
Recidivism is commonly used to measure the success of probation and
parole. However, the unique needs of offenders with developmental disa-
bilities and mental illness require additional measures of successful program
The Organizational Response to Persons with Mental Illness Involved with the Criminal Justice
System
Research in Social Problems and Public Policy, Volume 12, 181–196
Copyright r2005 by Elsevier Ltd.
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved
ISSN: 0196-1152/doi:10.1016/S0196-1152(05)12009-2
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completion. The purpose of this paper is to define and examine additional
measures of success that were developed using program theory. Specifically,
we discuss measures that we, the authors, identified with staff from the
Lancaster County (PA) Special Offenders Services (SOS) program.
1
We
argue that relying on recidivism alone fails to adequately assess the impact
that such programs have on offenders with mental illness or developmental
disabilities. Further, incorporating additional measures in an evaluation of
special offender programs has greater methodological validity. The remain-
der of this paper describes the program theory developed with the staff of
the Special Offenders Services program. We discuss how the indicators were
measured and provide descriptive statistics to illustrate alternate definitions
of success. We also explore correlates of these alternate definitions of suc-
cess. Finally, we make recommendations for evaluators and probation de-
partments based on our experiences.
PROGRAM THEORY FOR SPECIAL
OFFENDERS SERVICES
Offenders with mental illness and developmental disabilities constitute a
unique segment of the population. According to Harlow (1998), approx-
imately 37% of jail inmates have a physical or mental disability. Others
estimate that between 8% and 16% of jail and prison inmates have a mental
illness (Ditton, 1999). Approximately one-third of the total number of in-
mates surveyed said that they either have a mental condition or have re-
ceived mental health services at some point of time (Ditton, 1999, pp. 2–3).
Offenders who are mentally retarded range from 2 to 10% (http://www.
thearc.org/faqs/crimqa.html).
The offenders with developmental disabilities or mental illness necessitate
additional services to reduce the risk of re-offending, improve their emo-
tional well-being, and enhance the likelihood that they will achieve inde-
pendence (Council of State Governments, 2002). A number of communities
have established services to assist offenders with developmental disabilities
and mental illness (Linhorst, McCutchen, & Bennett, 2003). The Lancaster
County (PA) SOS program has been described elsewhere (White & Wood,
1986;Wood & White, 1992). More recently, the program has been expanded
to serve offenders with developmental disabilities and mental illness. The
majority of these offenders have been diagnosed with a mental illness.
Juvenile offenders have been referred for standard supervision with Juvenile
Probation and Parole Services since 2003. The program staff consists of a
182

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