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.
The county reportedly spends $300,000 a year on the program, or on average $30,000 for each inmate. The County Council has started a violence prevention task force to examine the county’s spending habits on violence prevention programs, including Leslie’s House.
And while that review will continue — all county-related programs will be examined — Councilman Eric Olson, who proposed the task force, told The Examiner, “It seems like this program has had a good success rate. … We’re not just talking about one person, but generations by helping them become self-supporting.”
He added that $30,000 is likely less than the cost of arresting someone and sending her through the court system.
The program provides a place to stay for five women at a time and a variety of social services at a county-owned home in an undisclosed neighborhood. The Department of Corrections provides three meals a day and around-the-clock staffing, Duncan said. She said one of the staff members is a corrections officer, the other a civilian; combined they’d likely make about $85,000 a year, according to the county’s Web site.
Duncan said Leslie’s House grew out of Leslie Johnson’s interest in the lives of female inmates. She said Johnson remains active in the program, visiting the women around the holidays and meeting with each new arrival.
