Gifted & Talented Intern/Mentor Program

Research Proposal

Student: ​Hannah Hills Date: ​1/24/2020

I.​ ​Research Title: ​Ending the Cycle of Recidivism

II.​ ​Overview of Research

With mass incarceration and high rates of poverty in many areas, the problem of recidivism is continually growing

more relevant. As there are a multitude of factors leading to incarceration, a multitude of factors affect recidivism,

before, during, and after incarceration. Various aspects of these three areas will be investigated to determine the

factors that make recidivism more and less likely. The aspects prior to incarceration studied will be average

education level and average socioeconomic status. The aspects of incarceration studied will be visitations allowed,

average sentence length, and information on the programs offered and their participation. The aspects following

incarceration that will be studied are the programs offered upon/after release, and the recidivism rate. This

information will be gathered from a variety of sources regarding 12 maryland prisons. Information such as

visitations allowed will be found on the correctional institutions’ websites while other information can be gathered

from government websites specific to locations. The problem that this research seeks to solve is that many outside

factors influence recidivism which creates a cycle that is damaging for both the individuals and their families. If

we have knowledge that can lessen the level of recidivism, the cyclical and intergenerational effects of

incarceration can be decreased.

III. Background and Rationale

Along with a high recidivism rate, 70 million US adults have a criminal record and 90% of them are males

in their 20s or 30s. This age range is crucial for educational, career, and social goals, all of which are damaged by a

criminal record. Surveys of employers report that 60% would either definitely or probably not hire an

ex-offender. Laws such as Ban the Box laws attempt to prevent such workplace discrimination but the laws are not

strong enough to prevent employers from finding easy loopholes to asking about a potential employees criminal

record. It is also significantly harder to find housing with a criminal record and a strain is placed on relationships
as a result of incarceration, especially with those who in some way rely on the incarcerated individual. From

incarceration comes lasting impacts. Two thirds of incarcerated people will recidivate within three years of release

and ten percent more recidivate within five years. With incarceration comes a great likelihood of reincarceration.

If the offender is a parent, their incarceration makes it much more likely that the child will live in poverty. Both

this factor and having an incarcerated parent greatly increase the chances of the child being incarcerated later in

life. The generational effects and the tendency to recidivate are what drives this cycle. When the factors that cause

recidivism are understood and the factors that help prevent it are known, the lasting damage caused by

incarceration can also be prevented. This research project will figure out these factors using several different

sources to perform a meta-analysis. This course of action is the best way to gather comprehensive data without

requiring experimentation or to gather personal data on a group of individuals. As the data collection progresses, a

variety of sources will provide new insights into which factors are the most influential. This complete information

can be used to understand what the ideal rehabilitation program would be for a returning citizen.

IV.​ ​Primary Research Methodology

The research question is: h​ow might the re-entry process for returning citizens be improved to decrease

recidivism. It is hypothesized that low education levels and low socioeconomic status correlates highly with recidivism

rates and the ideal rehabilitation program which would reduce the risk of recidivism for returning citizens should be

personalized, and include aid in obtaining stable employment, and should persist over three or more years following

release. I think that the data collection will reveal that at prisons which offer an element of personalization is offered, the

recidivism rate will be lower. I also predict that where aid in obtaining a stable job is offered and rehabilitation is offered

for 3 or more years that recidivism rates will be lower. It is predicted that low education levels and low socioeconomic

status are highly correlated with recidivism rates since crime is often motivated by financial needs. The research method

is a qualitative, meta-analysis of information from a variety of sources on from 12 correctional facilities in Maryland

regarding 7 different categories: Average education level of the incarcerated individual, average socioeconomic status,

average sentence length, visitations allowed, and programs offered during imprisonment and their attendance, as well as

the programs offered after release, and the recidivism rate.

Note: The research may instead be altered to only examine 3 of the factors against recidivism rate: sentence length,
visitations allowed, and programs offered during imprisonment/attendance at a later date if other data cannot be
found easily.
V.​ ​Product Objectives
The product produced from this research will be an example of the ideal rehabilitation procedure. For a

returning citizen. The audience would be those who administer rehabilitative services. Those that will benefit

from this knowledge are both those who administer rehabilitative services and returning citizens using these

services.

VI. Logistical Considerations (you may have this; you may not)
None

VII. Significance of Research ​(So What?)

This issue is important because mass incarceration and high recidivism is damaging to the country.

Financially, operating correctional facilities is expensive and stricter law enforcement requires more money to be

spent by the government. Socially these issues lead to a rise in unemployment, a growing wage gap, and demolish

the likelihood of upward mobility for both the incarcerated and their families for multiple generations. The

product is appropriate to address the problem because it is aimed at reducing recidivism which will reduce the

negative effects of incarceration. The audience is an appropriate choice for the research because they are the ones

who will benefit most from the knowledge of what makes recidivism more likely and what can be done to prevent

it.

VIII. Review of your Proposal by your Mentor

Your mentor may or may not leave comments on your work, but please have him or her sign your Proposal at the
bottom before you turn it in to me on your exam day.

1/18/2020
Student Signature Date

_______________________________________________________________________
Mentor/Advisor Signature Date