Program Profile: Wayne County (Michigan) Second Chance Reentry Program

This is a reentry program designed to reduce recidivism and increase reentry services for males, ages 13 to 18, who have committed offenses and are placed in a locked, residential treatment facility. The program is rated Promising. The program was shown to statistically significantly decrease recidivism rates among youths who participated in the program, compared with youths who received services as usual.

A Promising rating implies that implementing the program may result in the intended outcome(s).

Program Goals

The Wayne County (Michigan) Second Chance Reentry (WC-SCR) program aims to significantly enhance reentry services for adolescents who have committed offenses. The program is consistent with the six best practices of reentry as identified by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), which includes 1) objectively assessing youths’ criminogenic needs, 2) enhancing youths’ intrinsic motivation, 3) targeting youths at high risk for offending, 4) addressing criminogenic needs of youths at high risk for offending, 5) using cognitive-behavioral interventions, and 6) determining appropriate treatment dosage and intensity of services for youths (Calleja et al. 2014). The program was designed to reduce recidivism and increase reentry services for juveniles who have committed offenses and are placed in a locked, residential treatment facility.

The program was developed under the Second Chance Act (Public Law No. 110-199), which intended to address the reentry needs of incarcerated adults and juveniles. The goals of the projects funded by the Second Chance Acts were to increase reentry programming, reduce recidivism among participants, and improve integration outcomes (Calleja et al. 2016).

Target Population/Eligibility

The WC-SCR program is geared toward males, ages 13 to 18, who have been placed in secure residential facilities for sexual or nonsexual offenses.

Program Components/Key Personnel

The program includes a residential reentry specialist who is assigned to each youth in the program during treatment. The program is composed of monthly reentry-planning meetings with the youth, the youth’s caregivers, and a residential team (case managers). The goal is to prioritize the needs of the youth in preparation for reentry.

During the treatment, the reentry specialist also administers three assessment instruments to identify the youth’s most critical needs. The three assessment instruments are 1) the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS), which is used to assess mental health needs; 2) the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI) for adolescents, which is used to assess substance use needs; and 3) the Youth Checklist/Case Management Inventory (YCL-CMI), which is used to assess the amount of reentry services needed.

The amount of reentry services generally ranges from 100 to 300 hours of post-release, case-management services for 6 months. Youths who are identified as needing mental health and/or substance use treatment are referred to a community-based treatment provider. The amount and length of time of specialized mental health or substance use treatment is determined by the treatment provider following referral from the case manager. These sessions can range from 1 to 12 sessions.

After youths are released, they meet with their case managers weekly for the first 2 months and then biweekly for the remaining 4 months.

Study 1

Calleja and colleagues (2016) used a quasi-experimental design to study the impact of the Wayne County Second Chance Reentry (WC-SCR) program. The study included a total of 273 male juveniles from a large, poor city in Wayne County, Michigan, who had committed offenses. Participants were secured in a residential treatment facility for sexual and nonsexual offenses.

Of the 273 male juveniles, 156 were in the control group and received treatment-as-usual reentry services, and 117 received WC-SCR treatment services. Participants in the WC-SCR program were tested for substance abuse, functional ability, and level of case-management needs to measure the amount of post-release services needed. The breakdown of race in the control group was 77.0 percent Black, 17.0 percent white, 5.0 percent biracial, and .006 percent American Indian. The treatment group was 82.7 percent Black, 15.5 percent white, and 2.5 percent biracial. The age at admission of participants in both groups ranged from 13 to 18 years. The two groups were not significantly different on baseline characteristics.

Recidivism was defined as a new criminal offense that resulted in disposition in either the juvenile or adult criminal justice system. Two types of recidivism were measured: 1) a new charge or violation that did not result in confinement (type I); and 2) a new charge or violation that resulted in confinement (type II). For purposes of this review, the focus was on type I recidivism. Recidivism data was collected from juvenile and criminal justice databases for 2 years post-release. The study used frequency analyses and a logistic regression to measure recidivism rates.

At the beginning of the implementation process, the Wayne County Second Chance Reentry program developed a reentry task force to help facilitate the project. The task force is an oversight body that ensures continuity and sustainability for the project. The task force consists of stakeholders such as county administrators and community-based and residential organizations (Calleja et al. 2016).

These sources were used in the development of the program profile:

Following are CrimeSolutions-rated programs that are related to this practice:

Juvenile Reentry Programs

This practice consists of reintegrative programs and services designed to prepare juveniles, who were placed out of their homes, for reentry into the community. The overall goal is to reduce the recidivism rate of juveniles released from out-of-home placements. The practice is rated Promising. There was a statistically significant decrease in the recidivism rates of juveniles who participated in the reentry programs, compared with juveniles in the comparison groups.

Evidence Ratings for Outcomes

Crime & Delinquency - Multiple crime/offense types

Why might a practice's outcome ratings differ from the ratings of specific programs encompassed by that practice?