Second Chance Act (SCA) Follow-Up Study: A Longitudinal Study of 2009 SCA Adult Demonstration Program Participants, 6 U.S. States, 2019-2021 (ICPSR 39386)

Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)

Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection

Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes

Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose

The goal of the current longitudinal research was to examine the outcomes of the original impact study participants, over the approximately ten to twelve years following the point when these participants were first randomly assigned, and to estimate the impacts of the SCA Adult Demonstration Program over that time or at discrete periods of time during that follow-up period. As part of this research, the study team, sought to answer the following research questions:

1. Did SCA participants from the seven grant programs in the impact study (SCA participants) demonstrate better long-term outcomes related to recidivism (e.g., arrest, conviction, and incarceration) than a similar group of eligible program applicants who did not receive individualized SCA services (the control group)?
2. Did SCA participants demonstrate better long-term employment and earnings outcomes than the control group?
3. Did SCA participants demonstrate better long-term outcomes on other indicators of well-being (e.g., housing, family formation, benefits, substance abuse, etc.) than the control group?

Study Design View help for Study Design

To answer the research questions, the research team used a combination of primary survey data collected directly from the 966 randomly assigned program and control group members (study participants), and extant administrative data gathered from federal, state, and local public agency databases on these same individuals.

Random Assignment Process

As described in the earlier Second Chance Act (SCA) evaluation reports, SCA grants were awarded in 2009, and programs began enrolling their participants in late 2009-early 2010. For the study, random assignment took place later, between December 2011 and March 2013, with the starting and ending point varying by grantee. To be eligible to participate in the SCA Adult Demonstration Program, individuals had to be:

Within this pool, grantees were expected to identify the specific subset that their programs intended to target, which included, among others:

Once determined eligible for SCA participation according to the grantee's established criteria, an individual was provided an orientation to SCA program services and to the RCT impact study. Those who consented to participate in both the program and the study were then randomly assigned using an online system to either the program group, whose members were eligible to participate in SCA services, or the control group, whose members were not eligible to receive SCA services but who could participate in other services within their facilities and/or communities.

Grantees began random assignment at slightly different points in time, between December 23, 2011 and May 8, 2012. Grantees continued random assignment until they reached their enrollment targets, ending in March 2013. All the grantees conducted random assignment for at least eight months, and during this time a total of 966 individuals were randomly assigned to the two study groups.

In addition, congruent with their different service designs and grant amounts, each grantee had a different enrollment target and, based on other factors worked out with the study team, the rate of random assignment to the program group varied. Most grantees assigned approximately 60 percent of program eligible individuals to the program group and 40 percent to the control group. However, two grantees randomly assigned approximately 75 percent of applicants to the program group and 25 percent to the control group.

Each grantee also determined when in the transition from incarceration to release random assignment would occur. Some grantees randomly assigned individuals well before release and provided individualized pre-release services during that time. Other grantees generally relied on the institutions' pre-existing pre-release services and began individualized SCA services only as close to or after the release date. Finally, some grantees only randomly assigned participants post-release. Overall, approximately 55 percent of participants were enrolled in the study three or more months prior to release, about one quarter (28 percent) within three months of release, and 17 percent after release. Regardless, random assignment always occurred just before an individual's involvement with their SCA program.

Survey Data Collection

Consistent with the original survey data collection approach, the study team administered the survey data collection for the current, longitudinal study in three phases: pilot, primary, and final phases. Each phase began the same way: the study team sent a letter to each eligible respondent requesting that they call to complete the survey by telephone. The letter also informed the respondent of an "early bird" bonus provided within the first two weeks of the data collection period. The first phase, pilot data collection, began in late November 2021 and comprised a random sample of 50 non-incarcerated respondents. There were ten completes during the pilot, six of which were early bird completes. Pilot data collection had a 20 percent response rate. The second phase, primary data collection, began in late February 2022. Researchers sent out 520 early bird letters and received 32 early bird completes. Administrative delays in project approval required the study team to split all respondents with a California address out into the third phase of data collection. The third and final phase was comprised of 151 respondents. This phase started in June 2022 and had five early bird completes. During all three phases of data collection, Field Interviewers made outreach to respondents eligible for the survey. The study team closed the survey data collection on December 19, 2023. At that point, all pending respondents had been touched by staff multiple times. Researchers were able to complete 378 interviews during the entire data collection period, from November 2021 through December 2023.

Time Method View help for Time Method

Universe View help for Universe

Individuals who participated in the Second Chance Act Adult Demonstration Program between 2011 and 2013.

Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation

Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection View help for Mode of Data Collection

Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables

This study is only for restricted release. The study collected data on age, race, education, housing support, relationships, employment, conviction history, incarceration history, and COVID impact on housing from the participants.

Response Rates View help for Response Rates

The original study was designed for an 18-month follow-up with an expected 80 percent response rate in the survey. The 18-month survey had 789 responses and an 81.7 percent response rate consistent with expectations. The long-term follow-up survey received 378 responses and a response rate of 39.1 percent of the randomly assigned sample.

Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales

Binary and Likert scales

Original Release Date View help for Original Release Date

2026-06-29

Version History View help for Version History

Weight View help for Weight

The follow-up interview data were weighted to adjust for nonresponse. A simple first step in the weighting plan was to create a base weight, which, given the nature of this survey, was set to a value of 1.0 for each respondent. Next, researchers calculated the nonresponse adjustment using a propensity score approach. In this method, a logistic model was run to identify variables associated with the likelihood of responding. Multiple variables were considered for this adjustment, including treatment or control-group status, site, gender and race/ethnicity. The propensity model and estimated scores were calculated separately for the treatment and control groups. The weight is proportional to the inverse of the probability of responding.