Washington, Sep 14, 2004 - Published Outcome Study Shows CEC Programs Reduce Recidivism




ROSELAND, NJ (September 13, 2004)—Community Education Centers, Inc. (CEC) is pleased to announce the publication of an outcome research study that shows that correctional treatment programs at CEC facilities enhance rehabilitation efforts, reduce recidivism and cut costs to taxpayers.

The study, which appears on the cover of the July/August issue of Corrections Compendium, the Peer-Reviewed Journal of the American Correctional Association is entitled “Outcome Research as an Integral Component of Performance-Based Offender Treatment.”

The article describes two research projects conducted by Drexel University in concert with the New Jersey Department of Corrections (DOC) and Community Education Centers (CEC). The first study is a normative analysis comparing CEC residents with the Bureau of Justice (BJS) inmates as described in their most recent national report.

The second study is an outcome analysis comparing the three samples with regard to recidivism (re-arrest, re-conviction and re-incarceration rates). The NJ DOC and the BJS results (no treatment groups) were very similar regarding recidivism outcomes. The study indicates the CEC sample (treatment group) demonstrated improved rates of recidivism at a statistically significant level, one-year post-incarceration.

Together, these findings support the important role of correctional treatment programs in reducing recidivism and its associated costs. The cost of housing and successfully treating these residents at CEC facilities is 30% lower than the cost of merely housing these offenders at the State or Federal institutions.

CEC continues to be committed to providing performance-based residential community release programs through continued ACA accreditation and empirical research projects.