1. International Legislators Forum Minnesota Promising Practices
June 27, Winnipeg, Manitoba

2. Background Desistance is often challenging for released prisoners
Undereducated
Lack vocational skills/legitimate work history
Lengthy history of substance abuse
Anti-social peers
Correctional interventions and programs are geared towards addressing these areas
Chemical dependency treatment
Education and employment programming
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Social support programming
When individuals enter prison in Minnesota, about 40 percent do not have a secondary degree. In comparison, about 8 percent of Minnesota adults do not have a secondary degree. Roughly 90 percent of those who enter prison are diagnosed as chemically abusive or dependent.
 mn.gov/doc

3. Education Programming
Earning a secondary degree in prison
Increases odds of finding a job after release
Earning a post-secondary degree/certificate in prison
Increases hours worked and wages earned
Reduces recidivism by as much as 24%
Return on Investment (ROI)
For every dollar spent/invested on education programming, return = $3.69
The key finding from research on education programming is that while finding a job is important, maintaining it is critical for reducing recidivism. The benefits from education programming are reduced recidivism and increased employment. Even though the effects of education programming on recidivism and employment are relatively modest, it delivers a good ROI because it can be delivered inexpensively to a large number of prisoners.
mn.gov/doc

4. Employment Programming
Work Release
Reduces recidivism by as much as 16 %
Improves post-release employment, including hours worked and wages earned
$350,000/year in costs avoided
EMPLOY
Reduces recidivism by at least 32 %
ROI = $6.45
$2.8 million in costs avoided annually
Work release is an early release program that frees up about 250 beds. EMPLOY is a program run by MINNCOR. A key reason for EMPLOY’s success is that is provides a continuum or care or service delivery from prison to the community.
 mn.gov/doc

5. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT programs have been found to improve outcomes for:
Prison misconduct
Recidivism
Post-release employment
Moving On: gender-specific CBT program for females
Reduces recidivism for female Minnesota prisoners
Only effective when it is implemented with fidelity
CBT programs address criminal thinking, which is a major criminogenic need. Thinking for a Change is the CBT program provided to male prisoners in the Minnesota DOC, whereas Moving On is the CBT program provided to female prisoners.
mn.gov/doc

6. Chemical Dependency (CD) Treatment
Participating in CD treatment reduces recidivism by as much as 25%
CD treatment also found to improve post-prison employment
Continuum of care from prison to community = best recidivism outcomes
Participate in treatment in prison and in community
ROI = $6.32
$22 million in costs avoided annually
CD treatment is the Minnesota DOC’s most cost-effective intervention. It’s an effective program that can be delivered to a relatively large number of prisoners. When we look at the ROI for a correctional program, the economy of scale matters.
mn.gov/doc

7. Social Support Programming
Prison Visitation
Reduces recidivism by at least 13%
Visits from community volunteers (clergy and mentors) are most effective
InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI): faith-based program
Reduces recidivism by as much as 40%
Minnesota Circles of Support and Accountability (MnCOSA)
Reduces recidivism by at least 63%
ROI = $1.82
Social support programming tends to rely heavily on volunteers. It is volunteer resource intensive, but this type of intervention often produces large recidivism reductions. Anti-social peers is a major criminogenic need, and providing prisoners with pro-social support is critical to lowering their recidivism risk.
 mn.gov/doc

8. Thank you! Tom Roy, Commissioner Tom.Roy@state.mn.us 651-361-7200
mn.gov/doc