Program for female ex-felons is worth cost, councilors say

Most of the former female inmates who have passed through a costly Prince George’s County taxpayer-funded program named after County Executive Jack Johnson’s wife have not returned to jail, The Examiner has learned, which has some County Council members calling it a good investment.

Of the 30 women who have returned to the community after spending no longer than six months in Leslie’s House since it began in May 2005, only three have been sent back to prison for new crimes, Department of Corrections spokeswoman Vicki Duncan said. That puts the recidivism rate at 10 percent for the program, which is well below the national average of 54 percent and the county’s rate of 46 percent.