Brewster, L. (1983). An Evaluation of the Arts-in-Corrections Program of the California Department of Corrections. Santa Cruz, CA: William James Association.

Brewster, L. (1983). An Evaluation of the Arts-in-Corrections Program of the California Department of Corrections. Santa Cruz, CA: William James Association.

Author Affiliations: San Jose State University
Artforms: Ceramics, fine crafts, guitar-making, literary arts, media arts, music, painting, performing arts, printmaking, sculpting, visual arts, writing
Program: Arts-in-Corrections (AIC)
Program Description: AIC was one of the first prisons arts program in the nation, operating from 1977-1981 under the auspices of the William James Association, and from 1981 to 2003 under the California Department of Corrections. Individual and group instruction was offered in the visual, performing, literary and media arts and fine craft disciplines in California correctional institutions. The California Department of Corrections resumed funding of the program in 2014.
Program (Study) Location: T he author evaluated the following four AIC locations:
●  California Medical Facility at Vacaville
●  Deuel Vocational Institution, Tracy, California
●  San Quentin State Prison
●  Correctional Training Facility at Soledad
Study Published: 1983
Participant Type: Adult male inmates
Sample Size: AIC programs at four California Department of Corrections facilities
Data Type: Quantitative
Evaluation Focus: Costs and benefits of the California Arts-in-Corrections program from three perspectives: social, taxpayer and individual

Summary of Impact:
●  $228,522 in measurable social benefits (including $105,406 in taxpayer benefits and $123,116 in individual benefits) compared with a cost to the California Department of Corrections of $162,790 (p. 41).
●  35.9% of the AIC participants at the California Medical Facility and 65.7% of those at the Correctional Training Facility had fewer disciplinary actions while participating in the program (p. 29).
●  75% of AIC participants at the California Medical Facility and 80.6% of those at the Correctional Training Facility had fewer disciplinary infractions when compared with nonparticipants (after excluding inmates who received no disciplinary citations while at the institution) (p. 29).
●  The decrease in disciplinary actions reduced disciplinary administration time by 4,553 hours with a concomitant cost savings of $77,406 (p. 29).

KEYWORDS: adult, Arts-in-Corrections, ceramics, disciplinary reports, discipline, fine crafts, guitar-making, incidents, literary arts, media arts, music, painting, performing arts, printmaking, relationships, sculpting, self-confidence, self-esteem, skills, taxpayers, violence, visual arts, writing