Ellsworth House: A Community Alternative to Jail

Ellsworth House is a community rehabilitation program for adult offenders. It offers an alternative to incarceration within the regular jail and prison system. Residents of the house are able to engage in competitive employment in the community while participating in a therapeutic program at the house. In a controlled study of the effectiveness of the program, offenders already sentenced to the county jail for a term of four months or more were randomly assigned either to Ellsworth House or to a comparison group of offenders who remained in the jail system. Ealy results have been used to identify and correct problems in the program. Recidivism is now companable for the two groups, but the Ellsworth House group has a higher rate of employment.