What happens after lawmakers pass criminal justice reform? Eventually, somebody has to ask: Did it actually work? In this episode, Bret Bucklen and Matt Kleiman (Executive Director of the PA Commission on Sentencing) discuss two major evaluations required under Pennsylvania’s Justice Reinvestment Initiative 2 (JRI2)—Short Sentence Parole and the State Drug Treatment Program—and what the … Continue reading "Episode 23: Justice Reinvestment program outcomes (Dr. Matt Kleiman)"
Jun 24
30 min
What happens when a Pennsylvania prison unit is built around dignity, normalization, and human-centered design—and then tested with real science? Recorded onsite inside SCI Chester’s nationally recognized “Little Scandinavia” unit, this episode features Dr. Jordan Hyatt (Drexel University) sharing the philosophy behind the model and early results from a randomized controlled trial on violence, misconducts, … Continue reading "Episode 22: Little Scandinavia (Dr. Jordan Hyatt)"
Apr 30
27 min
The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections recently developed a new five-year strategic plan – a roadmap for becoming a more intentional, data-driven organization. This episode features a discussion with Randee Brant (Chief of Staff for the PA DOC) about why the department chose this moment to develop a strategic plan, how the goals and measures were built, … Continue reading "Episode 21: PA DOC Strategic Plan (Randee Brant)"
Mar 23
24 min
Results are in from the most rigorous evaluation to date of Pell-funded college programs in prison. In this episode, Dr. Sarah Tahamont (University of Maryland) joins Pracademically Speaking to unpack findings from Pennsylvania’s randomized controlled trial of Second Chance Pell—and what the evidence really says about recidivism, employment, and the limits of impact at scale.
Mar 4
26 min
In this episode, Dr. Bucklen discusses what it means for a program, policy, or practice in corrections to be “evidence-based.” This label gets applied frequently to all sorts of programs, policies, and practices in corrections but less examined is the strength and quality of the evidence. Dr. Bucklen also discusses cost-benefit analysis, and why effectiveness … Continue reading "Episode 19: Evidence-Based Corrections Policy"
Feb 2
22 min
In this episode, we discuss a recently completed evaluation of the Personal Growth program for technical parole violators. The guest on the show is Dr. Amber Petkus, joint post-doctoral fellow with Penn State University and the PA Department of Corrections. We also talk with Dr. Petkus about her experience as a post-doc at the PA … Continue reading "Episode 18: Personal Growth Program Evaluation (Amber Petkus)"
Nov 5, 2025
20 min
In this episode we revisit three previously conducted evaluations by the PA Department of Corrections: 1) Therapeutic Communities (TCs); 2) the SIP-HOPE pilot program; and 3) a residential relocation pilot program. These evaluations highlight the use of multiple rigorous evaluation methodologies (randomized controlled trial, regression discontinuity, and propensity score matching) for attempting to understand the … Continue reading "Episode 17: PADOC Evaluations of TCs, SIP-HOPE, and Residential Relocation"
Sep 5, 2025
22 min
Staff wellness is an under-appreciated component of corrections historically. The field is just now starting to pay more careful attention to this important topic, but how do we measure the effectiveness of staff wellness initiatives? Outcomes in this area tend to be a bit more squishy than say recidivism rates or in-prison assault rates. In … Continue reading "Episode 16: Staff Wellness (Kayla Franklin)"
Jun 9, 2025
23 min
In this episode, Dr. Bret Bucklen discusses a new report released by his team this month, which is a cost-benefit analysis of the use of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT). The study compares the benefit-to-cost ratio for four different types of MATs that are currently used by the PA Department of Corrections: Revia, Vivitrol, Suboxone, and Sublocade. … Continue reading "Episode 15: Cost-Benefit Analysis of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)"
Apr 24, 2025
22 min
This episode features a conversation between Dr. Bret Bucklen (Director of Planning, Research, and Statistics) and Dr. Lucas Malishchak (Deputy Secretary of Reentry) on the PA DOC’s brand-new Recidivism & Desistance Initiative (RDI). This initiative was introduced in January 2025 to provide quantifiable public safety goals for the agency and to measure progress towards those goals. It … Continue reading "Episode 14: The Recidivism & Desistance Initiative (RDI) (Dr. Lucas Malishchak)"
Mar 19, 2025
21 min
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