Recidivism numbers are almost exclusively the main metric used to demonstrate a degree of success after incarceration. However, recidivism alone is a poor metric for gauging the success of either criminal justice programs or of those who participate in them, as recidivism doesn’t reflect the nature of behavioral change.

This project investigates the methods and models to promote restorative justice. This will include the role of empathy in changing barriers for formerly incarcerated individuals at reentry and what alternative measures can more effectively describe the positive change individuals make in their own self-image and life narrative. Participants in Extension’s Entrepreneurs in Training program – offered to those formerly incarcerated who learn business development skills – will inform this study.

Principal Investigator

Cecelia Klingele, Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin Law School

Co-Principal Investigator

Angie Allen, outgoing EIT Partnership Co-Director

Diana Hammer, Associate Professor, UW-Madison Extension