Recidivism Reduction Initiative

The Second Chance Act of 2007 provides a comprehensive response to the increasing number of people who are released from prison and jail and returning to communities, including resources to address the myriad needs of these offenders to achieve a successful return to their communities. Under the Second Chance Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-199, Sec 245), the Honest Opportunity Probation and Enforcement (HOPE) Demonstration Field Experiment (DFE) provides funding to states, units of local government, territories, and federally recognized Indian tribes (as determined by the Secretary of the Interior) in an effort to enhance public safety and to improve the outcomes of probationers. BJA and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) are supporting this multisite Demonstration Field Experiment (DFE) in an effort to enhance public safety and to improve the outcomes of probationers.

The grantee will use the supplemental funds to continue to support the Massachusetts Offender Recidivism Reduction Initiative. This DFE combines a multisite demonstration of the Hawaii HOPE model with a rigorous experimental evaluation in an applied setting. The program consists of a randomized controlled trial (RCT), in which the costs associated with program implementation will be funded by BJA, and costs associated with the evaluation will be funded by NIJ. The grant recipient will utilize SCA funds to promote successful probation outcomes through the use of swift, certain, and consistent sanctions for every probation violation by replicating the Honest Opportunity Probation with Enforcement model at two sites. The additional funding will: (a) allow the project to expand to the Essex County Superior Court; (b) allow continued support for the courthouse based drug testing program at both Lawrence and Salem; and (c) provide local staff support to ensure the on-going integrity of the research process. The expansion will increase the number of probationers who are eligible for randomization to the project.

NCA/NCF