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Research Projects

Evaluation of the Sheriff's Work Alternative Programs in Adams and Madison Counties Illinois
Co-Principal investigators: Pinky Wassenberg and Richard J. Schmitz

Funded by Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority in 1996, The Center for Legal Studies (now the Institute for Legal and Policy Studies) conducted a process and impact evaluation of the Sheriffs' Work Alternative Program (SWAP) operating in Adams and Madison counties. The SWAPs were implemented as an alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders. The results of the evaluations are reported in two separate documents published by the ICJIA. Both programs began with the goals of removing inmates from the county jails to free bed space and providing of a means for offenders to pay their debts to society through public service work. The Adams County program did not achieve the objective of removing inmates from the jail because most SWAP participants remained incarcerated while in the program. The analysis of the impact of the SWAP on the community showed the second objective had been realized: the program provided an opportunity for offenders to perform public service thereby providing some degree of restitution to the community. The Madison County SWAP fulfilled both initial objectives.