The adoption of pre-release centers in the states

Although there is high concern among politicians, professionals, and the general public with the outcomes of correctional policies, there has been little systematic study of the factors that affect policy adoption. As the federal government steps up its initiatives to influence state and local polic...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: McGarrell, Edmund F. (Author)
Contributors: Duffee, David
Format: Electronic/Print Article
Language:English
Published: 1995
In: Criminal justice review
Online Access: Volltext (doi)
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Summary:Although there is high concern among politicians, professionals, and the general public with the outcomes of correctional policies, there has been little systematic study of the factors that affect policy adoption. As the federal government steps up its initiatives to influence state and local policy directions, knowledge of policy uptake is increasingly important. Policy diffusion research provides some guidelines for the study of correctional policy adoption, although there are competing theories about the variation in policy adoption. This study explores the adoption of pre-release centers by the states in the 1970s, under a previous federal impetus to promote state policy change. The findings suggest greater support for institutional factors than for economic development factors in the implementation of pre-release centers, but they also suggest that caution is necessary in distinguishing symbolic from programmatic policy initiatives
ISSN:0734-0168
DOI:10.1177/073401689502000103