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Why New Approaches Are Needed to Help Formerly Incarcerated People

Straight Talk on Evidence Oct 23, 2018
This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
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Giving Compass’ Take:

• Straight Talk on Evidence reports on a randomized controlled trial that produced disappointing results of the Department of Justice’s Second Chance Act that aims to help formerly incarcerated people re-enter society.

• The upshot is that reforms based on measurable impact will be needed to turn the program around. What interventions are actually proven to be most effective?

• Here’s how one program is helping former prisoners go to school.


This report discusses findings from a well-conducted randomized controlled trial (RCT) of program services funded by the Department of Justice’s Second Chance Act (SCA) Adult Demonstration Program, aimed at facilitating the re-entry of prisoners into the community.

The RCT found that the SCA services had no significant effect on the primary outcome of reincarceration over the 30 months following random assignment (60 percent of the SCA group were reincarcerated versus 59 percent of the control group, a difference that was not statistically significant).

However, the SCA-funded services included a diverse array of efforts (e.g., case management, employment assistance, substance abuse treatment). It is very possible that some were effective but their effect was diluted by others that were ineffective or harmful, resulting in an average effect near zero. Such a pattern occurs in other policy areas.

We therefore propose evidence-based reforms to SCA, similar to those we’ve advanced in other policy areas, that focus on a central goal: identifying a subset of specific re-entry strategies rigorously shown to produce important effects on recidivism and other key outcomes.

In a world where most attempts to make progress fail and a few succeed, such evidence-based reform is essential if we hope to improve the lives of justice-involved and other at-risk populations.

Read the full article about new approaches needed to help formerly incarcerated people at Straight Talk on Evidence.

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Impact Philanthropy is a complex topic, and others found these selections from the Impact Giving archive from Giving Compass to be good resources.

  • This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
    Click here for more.
    Five Questions Every Foundation Board Should Be Discussing Right Now

    Giving Compass' Take: • Phil Buchanan at The Center for Effective Philanthropy speaks from his own experiences inside foundation boardrooms and discusses five questions that will allow board members the time and attention they deserve.  • How can you best utilize this advice? How can you build on successes and improve weak areas? • Here's another article on lessons learned and lessons shared from donors themselves.  My CEP colleagues and I have seen the inside of more foundation boardrooms than just about anyone. It is, perhaps, a dubious distinction – though some boardrooms have amazing views that are definitely worth seeing. But it does give us a little insight into what is, and isn’t, being discussed in those hallowed halls. We’re usually in those boardrooms because we’re presenting results of our assessments, including Grantee Perception Reports (GPRs) and Applicant Perception Reports (APRs), often for an hour or two. Regardless of how long we’re in the room – I was once given six minutes by an impatient and irritable board chair – we’re often able to sneak a peek at the full agenda. While I am impressed by some, I am struck by how often the agendas seem pro forma. Too many seem a cut and paste job from past agendas – in September we always do this, in February we always do that – packed with items but not necessarily focused on the most crucial issues of the moment. That’s too bad, because there are pressing, strategic questions raised by the current context and environment that every foundation board should be grappling with. Let me suggest five in particular. What should our response be to a decline in individual giving? How are we getting feedback on the internal climate and, more broadly, the performance of the CEO? Who isn’t in the room who should be? What does the current political moment mean for how we operate? How are we hearing from nonprofits and other key stakeholders – including those we seek to help? Read the full article about questions every foundation board should be discussing by Phil Buchanan at The Center for Effective Philanthropy.


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