Evaluating the Impact of Goodwill Education Initiatives Recidivism Intervention

Last registered on November 09, 2022
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Evaluating the Impact of Goodwill Education Initiatives Recidivism Intervention
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010312
Initial registration date
November 09, 2022

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
November 09, 2022, 4:55 PM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Patrick Turner
Affiliation
University of Notre Dame
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2022-07-15
End date
2027-12-01
Keywords
Crime, Violence, & Conflict, Education
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
K42, I24, I26
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The research team is partnering with the Goodwill Excel Center, a network of tuition-free charter high schools for adults, to evaluate a new intervention for students with prior involvement with the criminal justice system. The GEI Recidivism intervention provides comprehensive recidivism reduction services to students through in-class and one-on-one mentoring. Each term, all Excel Center students will be screened for prior involvement with the criminal justice system, defined as either having a guilty, deferred or diverted charge in the state of IN or having a previous jail booking in Marion County. Those found to have a prior charge or booking will be randomly assigned to either a treatment or control group. Those in the treatment group will be offered coaching from a justice-involved coach and be eventually enrolled in a justice-involved senior seminar when they become academically eligible. All of these services are in addition to standard support provided by the Excel Center. The control group will receive business as usual support from the Excel Center and take the regular senior seminar. Approximately 800 students will be randomized between treatment and control, across 15 school terms (3 years) in 4 school Excel Center locations. The research team will assess the impact of the recidivism intervention on Excel Center persistence and completion, recidivism, post-secondary success, earnings, and employment.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Turner, Patrick. 2022. "Evaluating the Impact of Goodwill Education Initiatives Recidivism Intervention." AEA RCT Registry. November 09. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10312-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The students who are assigned to the JI services treatment group will receive individualized mentoring from a coach with prior involvement with the criminal justice system. This coaching will focus on removing barriers experienced by the student and encouraging persistence. They will also take a specialized one-term JI senior seminar that covers topics like support systems and services, health and wellness, employability skills and life skills that will prepare them to continue their education or gain meaningful employment and avoid recidivating. Students in the control group will continue working with their life coach and taking coursework as normal at the Excel Center but not receive these extra recidivism-focused interventions.
Intervention Start Date
2022-08-02
Intervention End Date
2027-06-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
1. Educational Success
2. Recidivism
3. Labor Market Success
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
1. Educational Success

Primary Measure: Excel Center Graduation
- Goodwill will maintain records tracking graduation for all students in the study and share this information with LEO. Assessed 12 months, 24 months, and 36 months after randomization.
- Hypothesis: The intervention is designed to increase graduation rates. We will test the null hypothesis that there is no effect of the intervention on graduation rates.

Alternative Measure: Excel Center Persistence
- Goodwill will maintain records tracking enrollment spells for all students in the study and share this information with LEO. Assessed 12 months, 24 months, and 36 months after randomization.
- Hypothesis: The intervention is designed to increase persistence. We will test the null hypothesis that there is no effect of the intervention on persistence.

Alternative Measure: Post-secondary enrollment
- Data will be collected from the National Student Clearinghouse to determine if students enrolled in post-secondary institutions. Assessed 12 months, 24 months, and 36 months after randomization.
- Hypothesis: It is unclear if the intervention will increase or decrease post-secondary enrollment. We will test the null hypothesis that there is no effect of the intervention on post-secondary enrollment.

Alternative Measure: Post-secondary graduation
- Data will be collected from the National Student Clearinghouse to determine if students graduated from post-secondary institutions. Assessed 12 months, 24 months, and 36 months after randomization.
- Hypothesis: It is unclear if the intervention will increase or decrease post-secondary graduation. We will test the null hypothesis that there is no effect of the intervention on post-secondary graduation.

Alternative Measure: Certifications
- Goodwill will maintain records tracking certification completion of their students and share this information with the researchers. Assessed 12 months, 24 months, and 36 months after randomization.
- Hypothesis: It is unclear if the intervention will increase or decrease certification completion. We will test the null hypothesis that there is no effect of the intervention on certification completion.

2. Recidivism
Primary Measure: Criminal Charges
- Researchers will use future Indiana court and charge records to determine if the student recidivates. Assessed 12 months, 24 months, and 36 months after randomization.
- Hypothesis: The intervention is designed to reduce criminal charges. We will test the null hypothesis that there is no effect of the intervention on criminal charges.

Alternative Measure: Criminal Bookings
- Researchers will use future Marion County bookings records to determine if the student recidivates. Assessed 12 months, 24 months, and 36 months after randomization.
- Hypothesis: The intervention is designed to reduce criminal bookings. We will test the null hypothesis that there is no effect of the intervention on criminal bookings.


3. Labor Market Success

Primary Measure: Earnings
- Researchers will use earnings information from Indiana Management Performance Hub. Assessed 12 months, 24 months, and 36 months after randomization. Average quarterly earnings in Unemployment Insurance wage data. Indicator for whether they earn $3,750 per quarter.
- Hypothesis: The intervention is designed to increase earnings. We will test the null hypothesis that there is no effect of the intervention on earnings. Employment

Alternative Measure: Employment
- Researchers will use employment information from Indiana Management Performance Hub. Assessed 12 months, 24 months, and 36 months after randomization.
- Hypothesis: The intervention is designed to increase employment. We will test the null hypothesis that there is no effect of the intervention on employment.

Alternative Measure: Credit Score
- Researchers will use credit information from Experian. Assessed 12 months, 24 months, and 36 months after randomization.
- Hypothesis: The intervention is designed to increase credit scores. We will test the null hypothesis that there is no effect of the intervention on credit scores.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Financial Well-Being
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Primary Measure: Credit Score
- Researchers will use credit information from Experian on an individual’s Vantage 4.0 credit score (or similar score). Assessed 12 months, 24 months, and 36 months after randomization.
- Hypothesis: The intervention is designed to improve outcomes that are associated with higher credit scores. We will test the null hypothesis that there is no effect of the intervention on credit scores.

Alternative Measure: Total balance in collections
- Researchers will use credit information from Experian. Assessed 12 months, 24 months, and 36 months after randomization.
- Hypothesis: The intervention is designed to increase credit scores. We will test the null hypothesis that there is no effect of the intervention on credit scores.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
At the start of each new term, the cohort eligible for randomization will be the students who entered TEC the term prior and have a history of criminal justice system involvement. We will compare average outcomes of the treatment and control groups.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done in LEO office by computer.
Randomization Unit
student
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
720 students, with approximately half in treatment and half in control
Sample size: planned number of observations
720 students, with approximately half in treatment and half in control
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
360 in treatment, 360 in control
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
We assume a post-randomization 80 percent power and a type-1 error rate of 5 percent. The intended sample size is 720 students divided evenly between treatment and control. Given this sample size, we would be able to detect a 0.209 standard deviation increase in an outcome. A primary outcome for the study is graduation. Roughly 30 percent of students at the Excel Center graduate. We are powered to detect a 9.9 pp increase in graduation (about 25 percent increase). Another primary outcome is recidivism. We anticipate roughly 35 percent of the control group will recidivate within 3 years of random assignment. Under these assumptions, we would be able to detect a 10.2 pp decrease in recidivism (about 23 percent).
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
The University of Notre Dame Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2021-11-04
IRB Approval Number
21-09-6803
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Pre-analysis plan

MD5: 9762968a89826275f07aec0c369e7c54

SHA1: e5d6bd4be2972a2dc4d5187ec8a1022e4404c95b

Uploaded At: November 09, 2022