Evaluating Success Among People Released from Prison

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will appoint an ad hoc multidisciplinary committee to examine the measurement and evaluation of success among people released from prison to undertake a critical analysis of the following:

The strengths and limitations of current measures of recidivism, including variation according to different individual needs and characteristics, and identification of key factors and outcomes that are not adequately captured by this measure alone.
The correlates of positive outcomes for individuals who do not return to incarceration and corresponding measures of reentry from prison that go beyond the avoidance of negative outcomes, such as crime, and consider broader measures of success (e.g., health, victimization, family attachment, educational attainment, employment, income, and civic engagement).

A final report will draw conclusions and make recommendations as appropriate and will be subject to institutional review standards.

The study will be carried out by a committee of approximately 12 volunteer experts in the fields of: Research/evaluation methodology, statistics, criminology, corrections, law & justice, sociology, economics, psychology, and public policy.

The National Academies are committed to enhancing diversity and inclusion in order to strengthen the quality of our work. Diverse perspectives contribute to finding innovative approaches and solutions to challenging issues. We encourage the nomination of volunteers who reflect the populations we serve and also welcome in particular nominations of candidates from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, women, and early- and mid-career professionals.

We invite you to submit nominations for committee members and/or reviewers for this study by April 9, 2021.

Contact information:
Name: Emily Backes
Email: ebackes@nas.edu
Phone: 202-334-3569
Board Website Link