Project Return is the direct result of a three-year in-prison research study that demonstrated the efficacy of a community-building intervention technique in the improvement of reading scores of inmates and as a method for reducing major and minor disciplinary infractions within the institution. The study also examined the issues of employment, violence, and recidivism. Begun in 1989, the research design was developed by Dr. Robert E. Roberts, director of Project Return. Analysis of the data obtained in the experiment supported the effectiveness of the community-building model in producing significantly greater improvement in reading skills and behavior for the treatment group compared to two control groups (see Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, Vol. 20 3/4, 1994, Roberts, Cheek & Mumm).
The study also revealed that a major contributing factor to the soaring rates of crime and recidivism in Louisiana was the inability of former convicted offenders to get their lives restarted upon release. Inmate participants had an average sixth-grade reading level; nearly a third were illiterate. In addition to their addictions remaining untreated, many former offenders upon release could not find gainful employment and could not reestablish a functional family environment. Dependence on welfare systems, relapse into substance abuse, and a return to criminal activities were common results. Old patterns were easily reestablished.
In 1993, Dr. Roberts brought Project Return to Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, under the principle that violence, if preventable, should be a public health issue. Through the intervention of community-building and direct service provision for the needs of former offenders in breaking their repetitive cycles of drugs, criminal behavior, and violence, Project Return.s goal was to reduce crime without doing further harm.
Project Return was later recognized, and funded, by the Bureau of Justice Assistance as a prison reentry program of proven effectiveness and as a low-cost alternative to incarceration. Initial funding was provided by the New Orleans Business Council and the New Orleans Private Industry Council, and coordinated through Tulane University Medical Center. Project Return currently operates with a dedicated program staff, many of which are former offenders, and provides an integrated service delivery network extensively enhanced by the community-building model.
Concentrating its efforts on those at highest risk for returning to prison, the program seeks to break the cycles of criminal and violent behavior through a process that assists convicted felons in making a successful transition from prison to the community and into employment.
Over 2000 adult and youthful participants, matching the proposed target population, have graduated from the program since 1993. Proof of success had been largely anecdotal until the New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission evaluated the effectiveness of Project Return in achieving its primary goal of re-integrating ex-offenders back into the community. The Commission.s four-year research study provided empirical evidence of the program.s impact, and documented that:
· During the first year, the time when most inmates return to crime, the program intervention maintains an 89.3% success rate, with only one in ten program graduates returning to crime.
· In year one, the recidivism rate for a control group was 37.2%, which is over three times that of the program graduates, which was 10.7%.
· In year two, the failure rate for the control group was 51% . double that of the program graduates, which was 24.4%
· Further analysis of the data showed that 40% of all Project Return graduates had originally been convicted of violent crimes, whereas, of those graduates of the program who recidivated over a period of four years, only 6% did so for violent offenses.
The report concluded, .Project Return is an effective ex-offender re-integration program. The services provided to the program participants enable them to make a more successful transition from prison to the community, compared with similar ex-offenders who do not participate in, or complete, the program. Project Return also appeared successful in reducing recidivism rates when compared with those for ex-offender populations nation-wide. As noted, the recidivism rates, in those studies reviewed, ranged from 24% to 48% one year after release, compared with 10.7% for Project Return..
Based upon a conservative cost benefit analysis it has been estimated that the program provides a cost savings of $42 dollars per year for every dollar that is invested.
For the past two years Project Return has operated as an independent 501c3 not for profit corporation, and, with funding from the State Legislature, has undertaken the replication of the New Orleans model in Lafayette and Shreveport, Louisiana. The Lafayette program is unique in its partnership with the Parish Sheriff.s Office, which cosponsored the project, providing partial funding, personnel and the restoration of a community based school building for project operations.
Collaborations
The cooperation and collaborations between Project Return and Criminal Court Judges, the Louisiana State Department of Public Safety and Corrections, the Louisiana Division of Probation and Parole, the Lafayette Parish Sheriff.s Office, Loyola University/Lindy Boggs Literacy Program, New Orleans Alliance for Literacy, New Orleans Public School Center for Adult Education, Perry Walker Adult Education Center, Teach America, New Orleans Center for Addictive Disorders, Jefferson Parish Center for Addictive Disorders, Clinic for Substance Abuse Service Agency, Louisiana Substance Abuse Counselors and Trainers, Charity Hospital Detox Center, Responsibility House, Volunteers of America, Bridge House, Odyssey House, Catholic Charities, Dress for Success, Bizlink/Welfare to Work Partnership, One Stop workforce referral agency, Job Search, Acadiana Parishes Vocational Technical school, Goodwill Industries employment services, the Salvation Army, New Orleans Public Transportation Services, and other local service/treatment agencies have been exceptional. This proposal builds upon Project Return.s experience in working cooperatively with such agencies to minimize participant risk of repeating prior offenses.
Project Return has, in addition to the strong support form the New Orleans Business Council and its membership, also established and maintained collaborative relationships with the many businesses that have hired our participants and graduates. These employer-businesses have been very well satisfied and include both large and small-scale enterprises, including: Avondale Industries, Inc., Hilton Hotels, Universal Offshore Catering, Fairmont Hotels, Marriott Hotels, McDermott International, Inc., Pan American Life Insurance Company, and CNG Producing Company, Inc.
