Recidivism of Offenders with Mental Illness Released from Prison to an Intensive Community Treatment Program

An intensive case management treatment program for mentally ill offenders (MIOs) is outlined, and subsequent recidivism of participants is evaluated. Features of the program and its development are discussed. Sixty-four (64) participants released from state prison between 1998 and 2003 were matched with a group of MIOs released earlier on eight established predictors of recidivism and followed for a period of two years. Significant results indicate felony recidivism for program participants was just over half the rate of matched controls (23% vs 42%.) More impressive results were found (15% vs 38%) when only data for participants enrolled after the first year were analyzed. Limitations and implications are discussed.