This Month
SANDAG newsletter
provides information
on key projects & services
SANDAG Service Bureau welcomes new team member
Environmental Mitigation Memorandum delivers on TransNet promise
Bike to Work Day is May 16
Six Diamond Award recipients shine at SANDAG ceremony
Regional economic prosperity strategy approved
San Diego a leader in
innovative ex-offender
reentry services
Forums provide opportunity
to review regional fare strategies
March Board Actions
available online
San Diego a leader in innovative ex-offender reentry services
A recent study released by the Pew Charitable Trusts paints a disturbing picture of the nation’s prison system and rising incarceration rates: 1 in every 100 adults in 2007 was confined in jail or prison, as was 1 in every 30 men between the ages of 24 to 34, and 1 in every 9 Black males in that same age category.
Noting that changes in public policy (e.g., Three Strikes Law), not increased crime, is primarily responsible for the growing trend, the report highlights the need for states to be innovative and aggressive in identifying alternatives to incarceration when appropriate. If not motivated by the fact that the United States leads the world in the number of people it incarcerates, the enormous cost and burden on state budgets is a factor catching policy makers’ attention. California is a leader in this arena, allocating $8.8 billion in 2007 toward their corrections system, which is a 261 percent adjusted increase from two decades ago. This increased cost is easily understood when examining Figure 1, which illustrates a 400 percent increase in California’s incarceration rate since 1978.
One innovative program being tested in California is the San Diego County Senate Bill (SB) 618 program, authored by the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office (DA). The primary goal of SB 618 is to reduce recidivism and increase the likelihood of successful offender reentry. San Diego County has the distinction of being the first and only county currently implementing SB 618. Based on best practices in the field, the DA-led program utilizes a multi-agency model to provide wrap-around, case management services to non-violent felony offenders paroled in San Diego County. The SANDAG Criminal Justice Research Division is conducting an impact and process evaluation, as well as a cost-effectiveness study, to evaluate the results of the program. The first research participants entered the program in July 2007 and will be tracked a minimum of one year post-program participation.
To learn more about the project, the Improving Reentry for Ex-Offenders in San Diego County: SB 618 first annual report is available in PDF format above or by visiting the SB 618 project page on the SANDAG Web site.
Project Manager:
Dr. Cynthia Burke, Division Director, SANDAG Criminal Justice Research
cbu@sandag.org, (619) 699-1910