CURRENT PROJECTS

The Center for Evidence-Based Corrections is currently working on the following research:

Toward a Model for Meaningful Family Engagement and Support within Correctional Settings

This study is headed by Nancy Rodriguez. In this  project, we seek to conduct an expansive examination of family engagement among incarcerated persons and correctional staff. The study includes a review of state policies and practices that address contact (i.e., in-person, telephone, and mail correspondence), family programming and activities (e.g., family strengthening programs and initiatives targeting staff), the interpersonal and institutional barriers to contact and family engagement, and the impact of family engagement on well-being. Research findings will expand the knowledge base in these areas and directly inform correctional policy and practice by leveraging the ongoing work of the Prison Violence Consortium—a collaboration of researchers and administrators of seven state prison systems, dedicated to reducing and preventing prison violence. We are confident that information from this research will move and transform prison systems in important ways.

Intermediate Outcomes for Innovative Programming Grant Programs & Technical Assistance  

The Division of Rehabilitative Programs (DRP), as part of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), has funded a wide variety of rehabilitative programs for inmates through their innovative programming grants (IPG) that can potentially help facilitate change and desistance from criminal offending. While most evaluators tend to use reductions in reoffending as an indicator of program effectiveness, there is growing recognition that desistance from crime is a long-term process that includes positive change in a number of intermediate outcomes (e.g., resiliency, impulsivity, interpersonal trust) that can help facilitate this process. Thus, including measures to assess change in intermediate outcomes based on a program’s theory of change can provide a good indicator of whether a program is having its intended effect on intermediate outcomes that can lead a participant towards a path to desistance. The Center for Evidence-Based Corrections and the UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs are conducting a two-year study with CDCR to develop a tool to measure intermediate outcomes during the first year of the project. Testing the tool with participants in IPG programs will take place during the second year.   

Youth Offender Rehabilitative Community (YORC) 

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is implementing California’s first Youth Offender Rehabilitative Community (YORC). According to CDCR, “the YORC initiative aims to assist people who began their incarceration under the age of 25 by establishing an environment more akin to a college campus than a correctional institution, with increased access to educational, therapeutic and vocational opportunities. In addition to VSP, YORCs are designed to cluster such individuals together at select adult institutions to encourage positive programming and provide impactful programming targeted to their specific needs, including peer mentoring and cognitive behavioral interventions.” The Center for Evidence-Based Corrections is conducting a process and early outcomes evaluation of the YORC program. The evaluation will assess if youthful offenders who receive immediate, targeted education and treatment programs while living in a positive and supportive therapeutic environment are less likely to participate in negative disciplinary behavior, and more likely to mature in their critical thinking and decision-making, affording them opportunities for rehabilitative lifestyle changes prior to release from prison. The YORC program is conducted at Valley State Prison (VSP). A separate but similar incarcerated youth offender population at the CDCR California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) has been selected as the experimental control population for this evaluation. 

The Sources and Consequences of Prison Violence

This study is headed by Nancy Rodriguez.  It is a multi-strategy investigation into the sources and consequences of prison violence in seven states.  We will examine violence among incarcerated individuals and against staff, using methods and data sources, which will collectively expand the evidence base on prison violence and victimization and improve prison culture, well-being and reentry outcomes. Additional information may be found at https://cls.soceco.uci.edu/news/27-million-gift-arnold-ventures-uci-funds-most-comprehensive-prison-violence-study-date

PAST PROJECTS

Parole Violation Decision-Making Instrument (PVDMI) Revalidation

The Parole Violation Decision-Making Instrument (PVDMI) Revalidation assesses the offender’s risk for recidivism using a validated risk assessment tool, known as the California Static Risk Assessment (CSRA), in conjunction with the severity of the parole violation (based on a severity index) to determine an appropriate and proportionate response to the violation. The offender’s risk score and the severity of the violation determine the recommended response to the violation. As the offender’s risk level or the severity of the violation escalates, the recommended response escalates as well.  This study is a revalidation of the original PVDMI instrument.  Specifically, this project re-examines the use of “underrides” and “overrides”; how the tool works for sex offenders and long-term offenders; analyzes violation responses and return to custody (RTC) rate; evaluates violation responses for consistency; determines if responses are based on severity and the level of risk the offender poses to the community; and provides recommendation on items not initially identified but found relevant by UCI during the revalidation process.

Testing of Pretrial Assessment Tools for Defendants in Los Angeles County

This is a $98K, two-year study with the Superior Court of Los Angeles.  The project will examine and validate the Public Safety Assessment (PSA) tool developed by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation (LJAF) for all offenders at bail deviation hearings.  In addition, the Criminal Court Assessment Tool (CCAT) will be validated for defendants at arraignment.

Division of Juvenile Justice Treatment Evaluation

This is a 5-year, $1.1 million dollar study funded by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation – Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ).  After 14 years of implementing what was designed to be an effective protocol for youth offenders, DJJ is ready to assess whether this treatment protocol can effectively improve behavioral outcomes.  This study is an evaluation of the complete DJJ treatment model.

California Static Risk Assessment

This is a two year study with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).  Over 10 years ago, the University of California Irvine’s Center for Evidence-Based Corrections and CDCR developed the California Validated Risk Assessment instrument modeled after the State of Washington’s Risk Assessment tool.  Using primarily automated criminal history records, the CSRA instrument categorizes individuals into three risk level categories for recidivism ranging from low risk, moderate risk, and high-risk.  The tool divides the high-risk category into three sub-categories: high drugs, high property, and high violent.  The CSRA instrument was developed and validated initially on a sample of approximately 100,000 parolees released in Fiscal Year 2002-2003.  In the last decade, California changed a number of significant criminal justice policy mandates affecting its offender populations.  The UCI Center for Evidence-Based Corrections validated the CSRA instrument with California’s offender population after the passage of Assembly Bill 109, the 2011 Public Safety Realignment Act. However, the CSRA instrument has not been formally revalidated on the offender population after the passage of Proposition 47, the Reduced Penalties for Some Crimes Initiative in 2014.  In addition to the policy changes, UCI shall review a number of variables and variable definitions to consider for instrument modifications.

The Effect of Prison Industry on Recidivism: An Evaluation of CALPIA

The California Prison Industry Authority (CALPIA) is a self-supporting, customer-focused business that reduces recidivism, increases prison safety, and enhances public safety by providing offenders productive work and training opportunities.  The goal of this assessment is to ascertain the official recidivism rates among offenders who participated in any CALPIA Program.

Process Evaluation for the Integrated Substance Use Disorder Treatment (ISUDT) Program

The Center for Evidence-Based Corrections has received a California Correctional Health Care Services contract to examine its Integrated Substance Use Disorder Treatment program. “The CEBC will conduct a process evaluation to determine whether the program has created a rehabilitative environment that improves safety for inmates and staff,” says Susan Turner, professor of criminology, law and society and CEBC director.

Program Accountability Review and Fidelity Tool Development for Community Programs

This contract with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), Division of Rehabilitative Programs (DRP) was to produce a revised Program Accountability Review (PAR) and new fidelity tool for DRP’s community programs.  UCI underwent a detailed process to revise the PAR and develop a fidelity tool for in-prison Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (CBT programs).  This study was to extend this work to the community programs.

Data Notebook Study for California Behavior Health Planning Council (CBHPC)

This study was funded by the California Department of Heath Care Services to help determine county metrics on progress in meeting needs of community members with mental health issues.

Francisco Homes

This study set forth a mixed methods approach to evaluating the Francisco Homes service model for lifers paroled from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to the Los Angeles area.  The project documented the services that are provided, compared the Francisco Homes service model with best practices on lifers (to the extent available) and general correctional program effectiveness principles, and recommended changes to the model to align with best practices.  To the extent possible, the project also compared recidivism results of participants in the Francisco Homes program to paroled lifers who did not participate in the Francisco Homes services.  The report can be found under the “What’s New” section of our Publications and Presentations page.

Division of Rehabilitative Programs: DRP Program Performance Process Development

The Division of Rehabilitative Programs (DRP), as part of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), is charged with the provision of rehabilitation and treatment programs with the goal of integrating offenders successfully into our communities.  Currently, DRP has over 41 in-prison-based rehabilitative contracts with vendors. Over the past several years, the DRP has developed a series of Program Accountability Reviews “PAR” activities as a form of contract compliance.  In the past, the process was a fairly time-intensive process to determine whether program operations, as well as budget requirements, were being met.  Recently, with the advent of the ARMS data system, in which a wealth of individual program participant data are recorded, including session attendance, treatment plans, and case notes routinely put into the ARMS system by CDCR contractors, DRP is in the process of streamlining the contract compliance process by utilizing data from the ARMS system to develop contract compliance measures.  DRP has also developed a set of quantitative performance measures and has drafted five measures of program fidelity.  This research set out the broad parameters of a process evaluation that integrates contract compliance, program fidelity with program implementation efforts.

Division of Juvenile Justice Treatment Evaluation: Official Data Analysis

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the current treatment model used by the Division of Juvenile Justice.  This evaluation covered three major areas: 1) a process evaluation, 2) a data systems and data quality evaluation, and 3) a “preliminary” outcome evaluation.  Importantly, this evaluation should be considered a “first” evaluation for the DJJ model primarily because, along with assessment, it included recommendations to improve data quality and, thus, the quality of their future assessment capabilities.

Changes in Safety at High Desert State Prison: Official Data Analysis

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the installation of surveillance cameras on a number of safety behaviors and perceptions by both inmates and staff at High Desert State Prison (HDSP). This prison is a test site by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to determine whether cameras will help reduce safety issues for both prisoners and staff.  Depending on the results of this project, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will expand the use of cameras to other prisons across the state. The report can be found under the “What’s New” section of our Publications and Presentations page.

The Department of State Hospitals (DSH) Staffing Study

CEBC conducted a staffing study for The Department of State Hospitals (DSH) to review current staffing levels and develop methodologies for calculating appropriate levels of staffing across three core clinical areas – 24-hour care nursing services, protective services (hospital police), and clinical teams.  This was a validation study which reviewed the data and methods used by DSH for their staffing needs.

Los Angeles Sheriff’s Risk Assessment Tool (LASRA)

The LASRA study was done to provide and implement a risk assessment tool, based on UCI’s California Static Risk Assessment Tool (CSRA).  UCI modified the CSRA tool to (1) capture County inmate demographics and criminal history; and (2) interface with the Department of Justice and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Jail Information Management System.  The LASRA tool will enhance the Department’s existing classification methods by reducing the jail inmate population and efficiently identify inmates for community placement, thus helping to reduce inmate recidivism.

Fiscal Challenges in State Correctional Systems: A National Study of Prison Closings and Alternative Strategies

The University of California, Irvine (UCI), RAND, and three other institutions joined in a collaborative effort for this study.  This research required the development of a survey to be administered via the web to heads of each of the 50 states heads of corrections.  The surveys were done to identify the fiscal pressures under which states are operating, policies and practices that have been adopted to deal with budget crises, including closing prisons, reducing staff and programs, changes in state sentencing structures as well as mechanisms affecting the “back end” of corrections, including parole services and revocation policies.  Background data on the current and recent budget situation for each state was collected from public records.  Based on findings from the survey and budget situation, the project team selected 6 states that had shown innovative ways to deal with correctional shortfalls.  3-day site visits were conducted with teams of between 2 and 3 members representing the project team organizations.  A separate task mapped the strategies revealed from the surveys and site visits with current best practices in the field.  Finally a short-term economic analysis was be conducted, as well as the development of a protocol for estimating long term impacts of policies on crime and costs for states.