By Ryan Shanahan, Selma Djokovic, Lidia Vasquez

The Vera Institute of Justice (Vera) conducted a rigorous evaluation of Restoring Promise, an initiative of Vera and the MILPA Collective (MILPA). Restoring Promise creates prison housing units grounded in human dignity for young adults (ages 18-25). The housing units operate with re-trained staff, trained mentors (older adults serving long or life sentences), and developmentally appropriate activities, workshops, and opportunities for young adults. Major goals and objectives The study has three main goals contributing to an overall evaluation of Restoring Promise. The first is to evaluate the impact Restoring Promise has on violence and misconduct among young adults in a large and challenging correctional system—the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC). The second is to examine whether the impact of Restoring Promise can be generalized to all young adults in SCDC. The third is to understand how Restoring Promise is implemented and experienced across diverse correctional environments including rural and urban settings, jails and prisons, and facilities housing men and women. Research questions The study is organized around three research questions: 1) Does Restoring Promise reduce violence/misconduct and improve perceptions of safety for young adults exposed to the new approach, and by how much? 2) Do outcomes for young adults who volunteer to participate in Restoring Promise differ in important ways from those who do not elect to participate? 3) How is Restoring Promise implemented across diverse correctional environments (jails and prisons) and populations (rural and urban, men and women)?

Brooklyn, NY: Vera Institute of Justice, 2023. 67p.