Evaluation of the Maricopa County, AZ Jail Based Positive Re-entry Initiative for Sex Offenders

Investigators: Gaylene S. Armstrong, Ph.D.

As a result of a 2004 BJA Implementation Grant, Maricopa County assessed its collaborative approach to sex offender management, developed and implemented a pilot program in their jail to address successful re-entry of the sex offender population serving a period of incarceration as a condition of probation. A multi-agency team identified and prioritized areas of greatest need in Maricopa County: [1] lack of in-custody sex offender treatment (offenders frequently spent a year in jail with no available services), and [2] responding to density legislation that severely limited available housing for sex offenders on probation. The Positive Re-Entry Program (PRP) successfully brought treatment programming into the jail to provide early intervention into the sex offenders’ reintegration process. An innovative aspect of PRP is the residential coordinator who is primarily tasked to develop housing resources and a database to ensure statutory compliance. Assistance provided through this coordinator aids newly released offenders in rapid transition from homeless shelters and other transitional facilities into permanent, stable housing.

To bolster the outcomes of the Implementation Grant, the Maricopa County Adult Probation Department (MCAPD) is currently engaged in BJA Enhancement Grant activities under the direction of Dr. Gaylene Armstrong to:

  1. Evaluate the impact of legislation requiring GPS monitoring for some newly sentenced sex offenders,
  2. Complete a randomized study of sex offenders who were assigned to the pilot Positive Re-entry Program