The Impact of Halfway Houses on Parole Success and Recidivism

Abstract

This article seeks to identify short and long term effects of halfway house completion on parole success and subsequent recidivism from a sample of offenders released from a northeastern state’s correctional facilities between 2004 and 2008.  Using propensity score matching techniques, we compare parolees released to parole after successfully completing a residential treatment program to a matched group of parolees released directly into the community from a correctional facility.  Analyses show that parolees who successfully complete a halfway house program are more likely to successfully complete parole but the effect on residential programming on long-term recidivism are negligible.   

Keywords: Alternative Corrections, Community Corrections, Halfway Houses, Parole, Recidivism