Breaking the Recidivism Cycle

This project investigates whether Maranhão’s recent prison reform—recognized nationally and internationally—has reduced recidivism through a set of rehabilitation-focused interventions. Since 2015, the Maranhão State Secretariat for Penitentiary Administration (SEAP) has implemented a broad agenda centered on the social reintegration of incarcerated individuals. Key initiatives include access to education, vocational training, and psychosocial support within the prison system. The central research question is: To what extent do SEAP’s rehabilitation programs reduce recidivism and improve post-release outcomes? Over the next 18 months, the project will establish a formal partnership with SEAP and develop a feasible empirical strategy to rigorously evaluate the impact of one or more of these interventions. The design phase will explore the potential for a randomized controlled trial, identifying a suitable treatment, sample size, and implementation timeline in close coordination with SEAP. This project contributes to informing scalable, evidence-based alternatives to improve penitentiaries policies in Brazil and other low- and middle-income countries.