Corrections and Reentry

This unique program, evaluated by Choice Research Associates since 2008, provides incarcerated individuals the opportunity to mediate with those they feel are important to them prior to release. Mediation allows the individuals involved an opportunity to discuss past difficulties and share plans for the future. The program is operated in many correctional facilities across the state of Maryland, as well as several local detention centers.

In 2022, CRA completed another evaluation study of the re-entry mediation program including a large sample and sophisticated statistical matching techniques, and assessed recidivism outcomes of arrest, conviction, reincarceration, and violations of supervision. A key finding was that those who participate in mediation appear to have a consistently lower likelihood of recidivism across a host of measures compared to those who did not participate.  A summary of the study is available here.

In 2017, CrimeSolutions.Gov conducted recognized re entry mediation as a “promising” program based on recidivism studies conducted by Choice Research Associates in 2014 and 2013. View here.

In November 2014, Choice Research Associates completed an in-depth recidivism analysis of the CMM program (to follow up the April 2013 analysis described below). The November 2014 analysis shows that mediation is effective at reducing recidivism measured as arrest, conviction, sentenced to incarceration, and returned to Department of Corrections for a violation or new arrest. See a snapshot of the mediation recidivism evaluation results here and the full report here.

In 2018, Lisa Pierotte, M.A., reexamined the data and found that these results held up, irrespective of who the individuals chose to mediate with (such as a romantic partner versus a family member or friend) or the topics discussed during mediation. Results are summarized here.

In April 2013, Choice Research Associates completed a recidivism analysis of the CMM program. See a snapshot of the mediation recidivism evaluation results here and the full report here. The Baltimore Sun published an editorial in October 2013 highlighting the program.

An article in Corrections Today, co authored by Lorig Charkoudian, Ph.D., of Community Mediation Maryland, Bonita L. Cosgrove and Dennis P. Ferrell from the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Corrections Services and Shawn Flower of Choice Research Associates, highlights the program and the role of family and pro-social relationships on recidivism. See published article here. Community Mediation Maryland also created a reentry mediation website which includes more information on the program as well as interviews with former participants. See DPSCS Newsletter here.

With the support of the Open Society Institutes Community Fellow program, Choice Research Associates (CRA) was been engaged by Elizabeth Finne to develop and implement an evaluation plan for the PREpare for PArole and REentry Project. Activities included a review of the literature which briefly examines the existing literature on parole outcomes on female offenders as well as challenges, barriers and outcomes and ascertain if similar parole preparation programs exist (see review here) CRA has conducted the Program Development Evaluation (PDE) Process to set out the long- and short-term goals and process measures, and is also supporting PREPARE in the development of a database to ensure decisions made in the PDE process are captured.

Saint Ambrose Housing Aid Center, Inc., is a home sharing program matching Baltimore City’s returning citizens (Home Sharers) with vetted homeowners (Hosts).  This program provides support services either directly or in partnership with other community-based organizations (e.g., employment, mentorship) with the goal of helping Home Sharers find permanent housing after the six-month home-sharing concludes.  The 180 Homeshare stakeholders engaged in the Program Development Evaluation (PDE) process from the beginning, ensuring that goals, objectives and a plan for implementing the project were clearly established before launching the program.

Community Mediation District of Columbia C began working with Choice Research Associates in 2018.  The CMDC Reentry Mediation Project builds on the Community Mediation Maryland (CMM) Reentry Mediation model. However, jurisdictional differences – including that justice involved individuals are sentenced to the Federal Bureau of Prisons – required CMDC to examine their program utilizing the Program Development and Evaluation (PDE) method.  Other considerations were a greater emphasis on post-release mediation services as well as providing conflict coaching. Conflict coaching is a one-on-one process in which a trained coach, who is also a trained mediator, works with participants to gain insight on a conflict, and works to build confidence to address that specific conflict. Throughout the process, participants have the opportunity to gain skills and awareness to support them in dealing with interpersonal conflicts in general.

The Reentry Mediation Institute of Louisiana is replicating the Community Mediation Maryland Reentry Mediation Program. Utilizing tools developed by both the CMM and the CMDC programs, REMILA is offering reentry mediation in Louisiana parishes beginning in 2022, with the goals of reducing recidivism, improving transitions from incarceration, and supporting family reunification. CRA has been engaged to conduct an evaluation of this program.

Choice Research Associates was the evaluation partner with Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, on their application for funding under the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BIA) Second Chance Act Reentry Program for Adult Offenders with Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Health Disorders. The project, awarded in October 2015, facilitates close collaboration (a forensic/legal advocacy boundary spanning approach) among the critical parties along the criminal justice continuum (from arrest, to detainment, to release) in order to close existing service gaps for clients who suffer from co-occurring disorders. Choice Research Associates utilized the Program Development Evaluation (PDE) method to evaluate the project. Key deliverables from this project include the development and assessment of a stakeholder survey by Choice Research Associate Ajima Olaghere, Ph.D., to measure boundary spanning activities.

Choice Research Associates (CRA) was engaged in November 2018 by Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (DOCR) Pre-trial Services Division (PTS) to conduct an evaluation of the Montgomery County Pretrial Services Enhancement Project (PSEP). The purpose of the PSEP Project was to evaluate the potential implementation of a validated risk assessment tool to be used by District Court Commissioners at the initial appearance hearing in Montgomery County, Maryland. The project was conducted in partnership with Montgomery County Pre-Trial Services, Dr. James Austin of JFA Institute, the District Court of Maryland Judiciary, and the District Court Commissioners of Montgomery County.

The Abell Foundation engaged CRA to conduct a secondary data analysis on the Baltimore City pretrial population from 2013 to 2015.  This period was selected in consideration of the DeWolfe vs. Richmond decision by the Maryland Court of Appeals which mandated that indigent defendants are entitled to state‑furnished counsel at the initial appearance before a District Court Commissioner pursuant to Maryland Rule 4-213(a). The project sought to determine Failure to Appear (FTA) rates from Baltimore City District Court by type of release (e.g., type of bond, release on recognizance) and by offense type, as well as bond forfeitures on surety bonds, and the average time in jail before jail for those who had a bond but did not bond out compared to those held without bail.

Dr. Flower was contracted to provide evaluation and consulting services relating to Baltimore's Safe and Sound Campaign Maryland Opportunity Compacts. The focus of the project was to conduct an evaluation of the Maryland Public Safety Compact reflecting Compact client engagement and recidivism outcomes. (Recidivism report available here). Dr. Flower also consulted with Safe and Sound on the new web-based data system including exploration of process measures for vendors providing services to clients of the Public Safety Compact.

Dr. Flower was engaged to assist in the development of strategies and policies to reduce offender recidivism by developing a focused comprehensive reentry strategy. The objective of the project was to work collaboratively with the Mayor’s Office, representatives from the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS), and review the extant literature to incorporate evidence based strategies to propose a jail reentry model. Multiple sources of data were utilized to inform this project including Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) official criminal history data, arrestee self-report of the Proxy Risk Assessment Tool, Offender Case Management System (OCMS) data providing release time and dates and release status, survey data from the Window Replication Project, and Level of Service Inventory Revised (LSI-R) assessment data of BCDC inmates and detainees.

The project report details the methodology and process to obtain information related to the project objectives and to support the final recommendations, including findings from the literature review, a discussion of a key innovative programs, data analysis from the five data sources utilized in the project and incorporate key discussions from the Mayor’s Office Adult Population Subcommittee and the DPSCS Detention Reentry Model Development Committee meetings. Additional resources will also be highlighted to assist in the implementation of jail reentry strategies. The full report is available here.

A collaboration between Power Inside, Catholic Charities' Maryland Re-Entry Partnership, Baltimore City Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice and Choice Research Associates to replicate Power Inside's Window Study with pre trial detainees and those within hours of release from Baltimore City Detention Center. The study assessed the needs and anticipated barriers to reintegration after detention. For more information, see initial study publication here. Choice Research Associates continues to explore these data to promote data-driven decision-making. A recent example is a report focused on transportation issues for those leaving the Baltimore City Detention Center and is available here. A report examining mental health among detainees is also available here.

Dr. Flower was engaged In 2008-2009 as a subcontractor to work with Justice Security Strategies, Inc., of Silver Spring, MD conducting data collection and analysis for the Jail recidivism Project for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in Montgomery County. This project was funded by the Maryland Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention and the published study is available here.

From 2009 to 2012, Choice Research Associates also provided data analysis, evaluation support, and on-site testing for Justice Security Strategies, Inc. on the Mistral Security Inc., Presumptive Drug Detection Technology (PDDT) pilot testing within community corrections settings. This project was funded by the National Institutes of Justice. The published report can be viewed here.

This one-day conference is sponsored by the National Association of Women Judges and held at the Maryland Correctional Institute for Women (MCIW) and provides women within 6 to 9 months of release the opportunity to attend re-entry focused workshops, employment interviews, resource fair, and fashion show. Evaluated annually since 2008, approximately 500 participants have provided feedback, as have other conference attendees including members of the steering committee, presenters, speakers, employers, resource fair participants, conference volunteers, MCIW staff, and guests. See http://www.wmfmd.org/reports.html for copies of evaluation reports.

This is a faith-based multi-site program affiliated with the Archdiocese of Washington which provides mentoring services to adults released from prison into Montgomery county, Prince Georges county and Washington DC. Volunteer mentors are recruited and are asked to be a source of support and encouragement as a mentor after release. Choice Research Associates are conducting the program evaluation using the PDE, includes development of participant surveys and refinement of Access Database to capture process measures and creation of customized reports.

National Women's Prison Project The Women's Collaborative is a case management program which uses evidenced based assessment tools and a holistic approach to assist women upon their return home to Baltimore City after a period of incarceration in a federal, state, or local correctional facility. Evaluation activities conducted in 2009-2011 for this project included development of a PDE evaluation plan, creation of a comprehensive access database to capture the ASI-lite, the client's individualized service plan, and all contacts and referrals both with and on behalf of the client, and an evaluation of the first year program activities.

As a consultant with the National Institute of Corrections Women Offender Initiative in Washington DC, Dr. Flower conducted a review of the empirical evidence on women and employment, published in October 2010 (see published report here). Shawn also reviewed the differences by gender in a series of key domains related to recidivism including lifetime history of sexual and physical abuse, mental illness, anxiety/depression and psychosis, and issues related to dysfunctional relationships both as an adult and related to conflict within the family of origin.

In May 2012, Dr. Flower was asked by NIC to conduct a nationwide inventory of formal organizations that target justice involved women across multiple spectrums including criminal justice, healthcare, public policy, advocacy, and legislative groups. This project will culminate in a database that can facilitate an information sharing network to advance the overall well-being of women involved in the criminal justice system.

Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. Baltimore, MD 2013
Veteran Inmates in Maryland is a service project on behalf of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) Office of Transition Services. Dr. Flower conducted an analysis of a survey administered in February 2013 of over 250 inmates identified as Veterans, and housed in 25 DPSCS facilities. The objective of the survey was to describe the inmate veteran population, confirm veteran status, deployment history, identify benefits received, housing plans upon release, and ascertain the inmate's needs upon release. A second data source was a data extract from DPSCS information systems which provided institutional data, risk assessment history, and additional demographic data. The report is available here.

Since 2008, provide policy support to the Montgomery County Maryland Dept. of Corrections & Rehabilitation in Rockville, MD, through brief reviews of literature on topics including correctional programming and institutional safety, impact of lead paint exposure on criminal offending, sex offender residency restriction laws, jail visitation, and a compilation of the best re-entry newsletter and website resources.

At Time of Release -- Inmate Homeless Census Report for the Transition Services and Community Initiative Project is a service project on behalf of the Maryland Division of Correction (DOC). Dr. Flower assisted in the development of a housing upon release survey administered by DOC staff to 127 inmates released from facilities in April 2011, created a web-based data collection tool, and conducted analysis. Data obtained from this survey was also compared to data from the Baltimore City Window Replication Study to provide a view of housing status among 142 individuals within hours of release from a booking facility, and 200 pre-trial detainees provided their plan of where they would be living upon release. Request a copy of report here