Although many women go to prison, they are less likely to go back a second time.

A 1996 study done by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction found that the overall return to prison rate in three years was 32.5 percent, with a male rate of 34 percent and a female rate of 23 percent.

“This reflects, most of all, that males tend to have longer and more serious criminal histories and thus are more likely to continue to commit crime,” said Steve Van Dine, chief of the Bureau of Research for Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

“By and large, the typical female entering prison does not have as long a criminal history as the typical male,” Van Dine said. “The more prior felony convictions, the more likely to recidivate.”

Women coming out of Ohio’s prison have shorter criminal histories than the men, and as a result, there is a slightly lower likelihood that the female offenders exiting prison will commit new serious crimes again and get sent back to prison, Van Dine said.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, men were more likely to be re-arrested, re-convicted and re-sentenced to prison for a new crime and returned to prison with or without a new sentence.

In 2001, women accounted for 6.6 percent of the state prison inmates – up from 6 percent in 1995. Women accounted for 10 percent of the local jail inmates in 1996, which is unchanged from 1989. In 2002, there were 113 female inmates per 100,000 women in the United States, compared to 1,309 male inmates per 100,000 men, according to the justice department.

Ohio’s Department of Rehabilitation and Correction has 33 institutions confining more than 44,000 inmates. Three of the institutions house females only, with the largest being the Ohio Reformatory for Women located in Marysville.

“The Ohio Reformatory for Women houses a diverse population of 1,800 females offenders ranging in age from 17-85,” said Patricia Andrews, warden at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville. “Our goal is to prepare the women for their re-entry to society and provide them with the tools they need to become productive, law-abiding citizens.”

The reformatory operates on an annual budget of $41 million, with the annual cost per inmate being almost $22,000.

“To accomplish our goal, we offer a wide variety of programs with an emphasis on release preparation in areas such as job readiness, parenting, substance abuse, community involvement and effective life-coping skills,” Andrews said.

The Helping Others Together Program allows inmates to help other inmates who may not be capable of performing day-to-day activities. They provide physical and emotional support to medically-fragile inmates.

The Therapeutic Community are long-term residential alcohol and other drug treatment programs. The focus of the program is to promote pro-social behavior, attitudes and values as a way to maintain abstinence from alcohol and other drugs.

In 1996, after employees and inmates from the reformatory took a survey, it was concluded that inmates felt that too much attention was given to disruptive inmates and there were no incentives for those who behaved appropriately. As a result, the reformatory now holds a Family Day. In 1999, 83 percent of inmates who were able to participate because good behavior received visits.

In June 2001, the reformatory opened Ohio’s only nursing program within an institution. The Achieving Baby Care Success Program allows incarcerated, pregnant inmates to maintain custody of their babies after they are born. Those eligible must be screened and must be serving a short-term sentence for a non-violent crime. The criteria for this program ensures that the mothers and children leave the institute together.

“There are currently five babies in the nursery,” said Maralene Sines, an employee in administration at the Ohio Reformatory for Women.

Despite the recidivism rates, the reformatory hopes to achieve its goals of successful female rehabilitation to prevent return to prison.

“Ultimately, we hope to reduce the likelihood of additional criminal behavior,” Andrews said. “And like Woody Hayes once said, ‘We concentrate on character.’ “