Effect of drug treatment during work release on new arrests and incarcerations

Nearly 1,300 drug involved prisoners from the Delaware correctional system were followed for up to five years after release. Those who had participated in a work release therapeutic community treatment program, compared to a similar group in regular work release, were significantly less likely to have had a new arrest, or to have returned to incarceration, and had significantly longer times before arrest or return to custody, even when controlling for demographic differences and differences in criminal, drug use, and employment histories. In addition to the treatment effects, new arrests were most strongly related to criminal history, while return to incarceration was associated more generally with drug use and demographic differences. Those with a more extensive criminal history showed particular benefits from the treatment program, and those older from participating in aftercare following treatment.     

Tax and Spending Limits in Colorado

In 1992, Colorado voters approved the Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR), which severely limits the growth of revenues and spending by state and local governments. TABOR was layered over two earlier revenue-restricting measures. Throughout the 1990s, the state enjoyed a robust economy and the effects of these restrictions were largely masked. However, government funding for several basic services in Colorado was rapidly slipping. When Colorado went into recession, the effects of these restrictions were fully felt for the first time, but neither the governor, legislature, nor policy nonprofits have been able to find a way out of the budget bind.     

Two Paths to Peace: Contrasting George Mitchell in Northern Ireland with Richard Holbrooke in Bosnia–Herzegovina

At first glance, one might expect great similarities between the approaches of two U.S. third parties, both white male Democrats, who acted during the 1990s to resolve two ethnic and religious-based conflicts in Europe. Yet, although each man achieved a substantial measure of success, at least in the short to medium term, a closer comparison of their approaches along a number of strategic dimensions serves to illustrate dramatic differences in the ways and means of third party actions. This article details such a comparison, and in the process sharpens the existing literature on international mediation and calls into question easy generalizations about the determinants of success by third parties in these kinds of conflicts.