Predictors of Success in a Co-Correctional Halfway House: A Discriminant Analysis

Considerable research and debate have focused on the effectiveness of community correctional programs. Much of the research does not address the issue of the effectiveness of programs for persons with different types of problems or criminal histories. This article utilizes discriminant analysis to determine the characteristics of persons most likely to succeed in one halfway house. The results indicate that strong socializing and integrating ties in the community and few previous contacts with the criminal justice system are major predictors of success in a halfway house program. The seven discriminators for females are used to accurately predict 87 percent of the female misdemeanants while the nine discriminators for male felons correctly predict 63 percent of the cases

Client Success or Failure in a Halfway House

Halfway houses today are diverse entities. Seiter, et al. (1977) found that almost 60 percent of the houses in the United States are private nonprofit organizations. One-third were state operations with the remainder being federal, local or private profit organizations. The programs in the houses varied from those providing supervision and custody to those providing a full range of intensive in-house treatments for particular client needs. Some halfway houses handle only particular types of offenders (e.g., drug addicts) while others handle a wide range of offenders. Latessa and Allen (1982) suggest that the sociodemographic and criminal history backgrounds of clients differ depending upon the referral sources to the halfway house. Allen and Seiter (1981) developed three alternative models of halfway houses based on where they fit in the criminal justice system. In the first model, the inmate resides in the halfway house during the initial parole period. The second model covers those situations in which the inmate is transferred to a halfway house before parole is granted. In the third model, the inmates are granted parole and placed in the community on their own. The parolee is placed in the halfway house if problems begin to develop. Latessa and Allen (1982) call for further research on the types of clients in halfway houses and on client risk, their need levels and special problems. This research addresses these issues. This article describes one halfway house, Cope House, in Dayton, Ohio. It is a diversified halfway house which does not fit any of the alternative models suggested by Allen and Seiter (1981). Cope House accepts adult male and female referrals from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Corrections of the State of Ohio, the Montgomery County Probation Department, and female referrals only from the City of Dayton Municipal Court. Cope House became co-correctional in January of 1981

Predictors of Success in a Co-Correctional Halfway House

Considerable research and debate have focused on the effectiveness of community correctional programs. Much of the research does not address the issue of the effectiveness of programs for persons with different types of problems or criminal histories. This article utilizes discriminant analysis to determine the characteristics of persons most likely to succeed in one halfway house. The results indicate that strong socializing and integrating ties in the community and few previous contacts with the criminal justice system are major predictors of success in a halfway house program. The seven discriminators for females are used to accurately predict 87 percent of the female misdemeanants while the nine discriminators for male felons correctly predict 63 percent of the cases