SERVING FATHERS WHO LEAVE PRISON

This article describes characteristics, service experiences, and outcomes for 350 ex-offenders with minor-aged children who were served at the John Inman Work and Family Center (WFC), a multiservice program offering assistance with employment, child support, and family reconnection. Following their visit to the WFC, fathers had higher rates of employment and child support payment. They also returned to prison at lower rates than the general offender population. Although the findings suggest that parents who leave prison benefit from a collaborative facility that offers multiple services, more rigorous research over longer periods of time is needed to reliably assess the effectiveness of reentry programs.     

The rapid analysis of heroin drug seizures using micellar electrokinetic chromatography with short-end injection

A simple and rapid method for the analysis of heroin seizures by micellar electrokinetic chromatography with short-end injection is described. Separations were performed using an uncoated fused silica capillary, 50 cm x 50 microm I.D. x 360 microm O.D. with an effective separation length of 8 cm. The system was run at 25 degrees C with an applied negative voltage of -25 kilovolts. Injection of each sample was for 2 s at -50 mbar. UV detection was employed with the wavelength set at 210 nm. The background electrolyte consisted of 85:15 (water:acetonitrile, v/v) containing final concentrations of 25 mM SDS and 15 mM sodium borate, pH 9.5. Samples and standards were prepared in 0.1% v/v acetic acid and diluted in the run buffer containing 1 mg/ml of N,N-dimethyl-5-methoxytryptamine as an internal standard. Under these conditions a text mixture containing caffeine, paracetamol, morphine, codeine, heroin, and acetylcodeine was resolved within 1.5 min. The method was used to determine the concentration of heroin in heroin seizure samples, and the results were in good agreement with those obtained by a validated gas chromatographic method.     

Thou Shalt Not Flip Flop: Senators’ Religious Affiliations and Issue Position Consistency

Is there a relationship between legislators’ religious affiliations and the consistency of their voting records? Building on the theory of “the personal roots of representation,” we argue that a legislator's likelihood of switching positions depends on whether the issue is central to their personal values. We evaluate this claim using a data set including senators’ religious affiliations and “culture war” votes from 1976 to 2004 and find that different religious groups vary in their voting consistency on issues such as abortion, public prayer, and gay and lesbian rights.