Community Corrections in Colorado

One of the best researchers in America is Kim English at the Colorado Department of Justice. She and Nicole Hetz-Burrell published this paper on community corrections to try and discover some of the intricacies of the perfomance of the programs here in Colorado. What works, what doesn't, and why. Here is the report they have provided us, including the analysis and policy recommendations that they distilled from the data that they collected. If you want to read more of the wonderful research that Kim has done over the years go the the DOJ website here.

Community Corrections in Colorado: A Study of Program Outcomes and Recidivism, FY00-FY04

Research Findings
Financial Outcomes
• Offenders in halfway houses across the state paid more than $2.6 million
in state taxes and approximately $6.7 million in federal taxes between
FY00 and FY04. They earned more than $115 million and paid over $36
million in room and board during that period.
Program Outcomes
• Successful completion rates ranged from 39.6 percent to 72.8 percent
across 30 halfway houses.
• Between FY00 and FY03, approximately 62-63 percent of offenders
successfully completed their stay in community corrections. However, in
FY04, the successful completion rate dropped from 63.1 percent to 56.1
percent.
• Success rates for diversion clients dropped from 58.8 percent during
FY00-03 to 52.2 percent in FY04 while success rates for transition clients
dropped from 67.2 percent to 60.1 percent in FY00-03 and FY04,
respectively.
o Success rates for community corrections clients increased
consistently between 1989 and 2003, a period during which
programs managed increasingly more serious offenders, as
measured by the criminal history score.
Read the Entire Report