Transaction Search Form: please type in any of the fields below.
Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
Time: 12:24 pm
Time: 12:24 pm
Results for employment
81 results foundAuthor: Bhattacharya, Manasi Title: Marital Violence and Women's Employment and Property Status: Evidence from North Indian Villages Summary: This paper draws on testimonies of men and women and data gathered from rural Uttar Pradesh, to examine the effect of women's employment and asset status as measured by their participation in paid work and their ownership of property, respectively, on spousal violence. Details: Bonn, Germany: Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), 2009 Source: IZA Discussion Paper No. 4361 Year: 2009 Country: India URL: Shelf Number: 116387 Keywords: Domestic ViolenceEmploymentFemale Victims |
Author: Fitch, Kate Title: Protecting children from sexual abuse in Europe: Safer recruitment of workers in a border-free Europe Summary: This report presents the case for improving cooperation across the European Union (EU) to protect children from sexual abuse. It identifies the main barriers that currently prevent the effective pre-employment vetting of migrant workers across Europe, and examines initiatives that have been or are being pursued at EU level, aimed at improving the exchanges of cross-border criminal information exchange. It makes recommendations on how the European Union and member states can improve cross-border cooperation for vetting and barring purposes, focusing particularly on the need to improve and share information. Details: London: National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), 2007 Source: Year: 2007 Country: United Kingdom URL: Shelf Number: 113537 Keywords: EmploymentJuvenilesVictimization |
Author: Raphael, Steven Title: Improving Employment Prospects for Former Prison Inmates: Challenges and Policy Summary: This paper analyzes the employment prospects of former prison inmates and reviews recent evaluation of reentry programs that either aim to improvement employment among the formerly incarcerated or aim to reduce recidivism through treatment interventions centered on employment. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2010. 32p. Source: NBER Working Paper Series; Working Paper 15874 Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 117607 Keywords: EmploymentEx-Offenders (Employment)RecidivismReentry |
Author: McEvoy, Kieran Title: Enhancing Employability in Prison and Beyond: A Literature Review Summary: This literature review presents a comprehensive survey of books, reports and journal articles on crime and employability. Chapters include: Crime, Employment & Offending; Employability, Education and Training In Prison; Post Release Policy and Practice: What Works?: Good Practice & Desistance from Crime; Employment, Connectedness and the Notion of Social Capital; and Barriers to Employability. Details: NIACRO (Northern Ireland Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders), 2008. 53p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 119369 Keywords: EmploymentEx-OffendersJob TrainingRehabilitation |
Author: Redcross, Cindy Title: Work After Prison: One-Year Findings From the Transitional Jobs Reentry Demonstration Summary: More than 2 million people are incarcerated in the United States, and around 700,000 are released from prison each year. Those who are released face daunting obstacles as they seek to reenter their communities, and rates of recidivism are high. Many experts believe that stable employment is critical to a successful transition from prison to the community. The Joyce Foundation’s Transitional Jobs Reentry Demonstration (TJRD), also funded by the JEHT Foundation and the U.S. Department of Labor, is testing employment programs for former prisoners in Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, and St. Paul, using a rigorous random assignment design. MDRC is leading the evaluation, along with the Urban Institute and the University of Michigan. The project focuses on transitional jobs (TJ) programs that provide temporary subsidized jobs, support services, and job placement help. Transitional jobs are seen as a promising model for former prisoners and for other disadvantaged groups. In 2007-2008, more than 1,800 men who had recently been released from prison were assigned, at random, to a transitional jobs program or to a program providing basic job search (JS) assistance but no subsidized jobs. Both groups are being followed using state data on employment and recidivism. Random assignment ensures that if significant differences emerge between the two groups, those differences can be attributed with confidence to the different types of employment services each group received. This is the first major report in the TJRD project. It describes how the demonstration was implemented and assesses how the transitional jobs programs affected employment and recidivism during the first year after people entered the project, a period when the recession caused unemployment rates to rise substantially in all four cities. Key findings include: 1. The TJRD project generally operated as intended. The TJ programs developed work slots and placed a very high percentage of participants into transitional jobs. About 85 percent of the men who were assigned to the TJ programs worked in a transitional job, reflecting a strong motivation to work. On average, participants worked in the TJs for about four months. 2. The TJ group was much more likely to work than the JS group early on, but the difference between groups faded as men left the transitional jobs; overall, the TJ group was no more likely to work in an unsubsidized job than the JS group. The programs provided temporary jobs to many who would not otherwise have worked, but at the end of the first year, only about one-third of the TJ group — about the same proportion as in the JS group — was employed in the formal labor market. 3. Overall, the TJ programs had no consistent impacts on recidivism during the first year of follow-up. About one-third of each group was arrested and a similar number returned to prison. Most of the prison admissions were for violations of parole rules, not new crimes. In one site, the transitional jobs group was less likely to be reincarcerated for a parole violation. These results point to the need to develop and test enhancements to the transitional jobs model and other strategies to improve outcomes for former prisoners who reenter society. They also raise questions about the assumed connection between employment and recidivism, since there were no decreases in arrests even during the period when the TJ group was much more likely to be employed. This is not the final word on the TJRD project; both groups will be followed up for another year, with two-year results available in 2011. Details: New York: MDRC, 2009. 245p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 9, 2010 at: http://www.mdrc.org/publications/570/full.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.mdrc.org/publications/570/full.pdf Shelf Number: 120265 Keywords: EmploymentEx-OffendersReentry |
Author: Lawrence, Sarah Title: Reaching a Higher Ground: Increasing Employment Opportunities for People with Prior Convictions Summary: Stable employment makes for a higher quality of life for almost all working adults. With it comes an increased ability to take care of oneself and one's family, the power to purchase goods and services, the opportunity to develop personal relationships, and the fulfillment of personal growth. The reach of the criminal justice system has expanded in recent decades, and the consequences of involvement with the criminal justice system are more serious than ever, as laws, policies, and practices relate to almost all facets of life. An historic number of citizens have been convicted of a felony. Between 1980 and 2009, California's prison population increased by 583%, and the state's recidivism rates are above the national average. High recidivism rates come with significant financial costs to the state. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) budget was $9.8 billion in the 2009-2010 fiscal year. At the same time, the prevalence of background checks has also increased. The number of Californians with a criminal record has continued to grow; there are nearly eight million individuals in the state's criminal history file. Although the challenges facing individuals with prior convictions are daunting, and the number of individuals impacted is enormous, there are opportunities for change in the current social and political environment. Details: Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Center for Criminal Justice, University of California, Berkeley School of Law, 2010. 65p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 1, 2010 at: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/Final_EO_Master_Complete.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/Final_EO_Master_Complete.pdf Shelf Number: 120320 Keywords: EmploymentEx-Offenders (California)Rehabilitation |
Author: Wang, Shun-Yung Kevin Title: Contingencies in the Long-Term Impact of Work on Crime Among Youth Summary: The impact of jobs on working American youth has not been examined thoroughly and the mechanism between employment and delinquency is not fully understood. Many prior studies that addressed the issue of youth employment and crime emphasized one variable, work intensity, and left plenty of unknown pieces in this puzzle. This study introduces the concept of “ladder jobs” that arguably deter job holders from committing delinquent and criminal behaviors. In this dissertation, “ladder jobs” are those with significant upward-moving occupational positions on a status ladder, and, to adolescents, these jobs encompass potential to be the start of an attractive career. Three promising mediating factors, job income, job stability, and parental control, are also examined. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 97 and structural equation modeling are used to test hypotheses. Results indicate that “ladder jobs” demonstrated a significant crime-decreasing effect, while employment exhibited a crime-increasing effect. In addition, the magnitude rate of “ladder jobs” versus employment increased as youth aged; that is, the advantages of “ladder jobs” gradually outweigh the disadvantages of employment in the sense of crime prevention. Furthermore, job income partially mediates the crime-increasing effect of employment on delinquency, and job stability partially mediates the crime-decreasing effect of “ladder jobs” on delinquency. However, parental control, which is measured as direct supervision, does not play a mediating role between employment and delinquency. In sum, from a crime-prevention standpoint, a job that pays little now, but improves the chances of a long-term career appears to better than a dead-end job that pays comparatively well in the short-term. The findings also imply that the discussions of employment and of internships among youth should address the importance of future-oriented feature of occupations, and not just the immediate monetary gains from the employment. Details: Tallahassee, FL: Florida State University, College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 2010. 215p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed December 2, 2010 at: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/232222.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/232222.pdf Shelf Number: 120336 Keywords: Delinquency PreventionEmploymentJuvenile Offenders |
Author: Flower, Shawn M. Title: Employment and Female Offenders: An Update of the Empirical Research Summary: Existing research demonstrates a positive link between employment and desistance from criminal behavior for offender populations. Reentering men and women face many challenges, from the stigma of their criminal record to an individual lack of employment history and relevant skills. For individuals successful in their search for employment, job retention can be complicated by everyday circumstances that compete for attention. Although male and female offenders face many of the same issues, women often face a set of circumstances that add additional barriers, particularly if the women are the sole custodial parent for children. This bulletin is a summary of available literature related to employment and women in the criminal justice system. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections, 2010. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Gender-Responsive Strategies for Women Offenders: Accessed December 2, 2010 at: http://nicic.gov/Downloads/PDF/Library/024662.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://nicic.gov/Downloads/PDF/Library/024662.pdf Shelf Number: 120344 Keywords: EmploymentFemale Offenders |
Author: Blumstein, Alfred Title: Potential of Redemption in Criminal Background Checks Summary: Background checking, especially checking of criminal-history records, is becoming increasingly ubiquitous in the U.S. Recent advances in information technology and growing concern about employer liability have combined to increase the demand for such background checks. Also, a large number of individual criminal records have accumulated and been computerized in state repositories and commercial databases. As a result, many people who have made mistakes in their youthful past, but have since lived a law-abiding life face hardships in finding employment. The concern is evidenced by the report from the Attorney General sent to Congress in June, 2006 on criminal history background checks (U.S. Department of Justice, 2006). In the report, there is a recommendation for time limits on the relevancy of criminal records, which reflects the fact that the potentially lasting effect of criminal records is a common concern among many governmental and legal entities that have a say in this issue. Such entities include the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which is concerned about discrimination based on criminal records because those with criminal records are disproportionately racial/ethnic minorities. The American Bar Association (ABA) is also concerned about the negative lasting effect of criminal records in employment settings. Both these organizations are taking an initiative to broaden the discussion about the problem of the way in which criminal records are currently used and to address how to regulate the use of criminal records, including a time limit on their relevancy. It is our goal in this project to provide guidance on the possibility of “redemption,” (which we define as the process of lifting the burden of the prior record), and to provide guidance on how one may estimate when such redemption is appropriate. Numerous studies have shown in the past that recidivism probability declines with time “clean,” so there is some point in time when a person with a criminal record who remained free of further contact with the criminal justice system is of no greater risk than any counterpart, an indication of redemption from the mark of an offender. We henceforth call this time point “redemption time.” Sections of this report discuss the recent trends about the practice of criminal background checking, particularly by employers, and the volume of computerized criminal records that are available for such background checks. They also address the problem of the lack of guidelines that could help employers understand how the “age” of a criminal record relates to the level of risk of a new crime. By discussing the trends, we demonstrate that the problem of redemption is a pressing public concern, and that empirically based guidance on redemption is urgently needed. Details: Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon University, 2010. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 2, 2010 at: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/232358.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/232358.pdf Shelf Number: 120364 Keywords: Background ChecksCriminal RecordsEmploymentEx-Offenders |
Author: Redcross, Cindy Title: Transitional Jobs for Ex-Prisoners: Implementation, Two-Year Impacts, and Costs of the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) Prisoner Reentry Program Summary: Almost 700,000 people are released from state prisons each year. Ex-prisoners face daunting obstacles to successful reentry into society, and rates of recidivism are high. Most experts believe that stable employment is critical to a successful transition, but ex-prisoners have great difficulty finding steady work. This report presents interim results from a rigorous evaluation of the New York City-based Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), a highly regarded employment program for ex-prisoners. CEO participants are placed in paid transitional jobs shortly after enrollment; they are supervised by CEO staff and receive a range of supports. Once they show good performance in the transitional job, participants get help finding a permanent job and additional support after placement. CEO is one of four sites in the Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ Demonstration and Evaluation Project, which is sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families and the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), with additional funding from the U.S. Department of Labor. The project is being conducted under contract to HHS by MDRC, a nonprofit research organization, along with the Urban Institute and other partners. The impacts of CEO's program are being assessed using a rigorous research design. In 2004-2005, a total of 977 ex-prisoners who reported to CEO were assigned, at random, to a program group that was eligible for all of CEO's services or to a control group that received basic job search assistance. So far, the two groups have been followed for two years after study entry. Almost 700,000 people are released from state prisons each year. Ex-prisoners face daunting obstacles to successful reentry into society, and rates of recidivism are high. Most experts believe that stable employment is critical to a successful transition, but ex-prisoners have great difficulty finding steady work. This report presents interim results from a rigorous evaluation of the New York City-based Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), a highly regarded employment program for ex-prisoners. CEO participants are placed in paid transitional jobs shortly after enrollment; they are supervised by CEO staff and receive a range of supports. Once they show good performance in the transitional job, participants get help finding a permanent job and additional support after placement. CEO is one of four sites in the Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ Demonstration and Evaluation Project, which is sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families and the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), with additional funding from the U.S. Department of Labor. The project is being conducted under contract to HHS by MDRC, a nonprofit research organization, along with the Urban Institute and other partners. The impacts of CEO's program are being assessed using a rigorous research design. In 2004-2005, a total of 977 ex-prisoners who reported to CEO were assigned, at random, to a program group that was eligible for all of CEO's services or to a control group that received basic job search assistance. So far, the two groups have been followed for two years after study entry. Key Findings Include the following: CEO's program operated smoothly during the study period, and most program group members received the core services. More than 70 percent of the program group worked in a transitional job; the average length of that employment was about eight weeks; CEO generated a large but short-lived increase in employment; the increase was driven by CEO's transitional jobs. By the end of the first year of the study period, the program and control groups were equally likely to be employed, and their earnings were similar; CEO reduced recidivism during both the first and the second year of the study period. The program group was significantly less likely than the control group to be convicted of a crime, to be admitted to prison for a new conviction, or to be incarcerated for any reason in prison or jail during the first two years of the study period. In Year 1, CEO reduced recidivism only for those who came to the program within three months after their release from prison; in Year 2, however, the program reduced recidivism both for recently released study participants and for those who were not recently released at study entry. The study will follow the two groups for a third year, but the results so far show that CEO's program reduced recidivism, even after the employment gains faded. Decreases in recidivism have rarely been found in rigorous evaluations. Further research is needed to identify approaches that can produce more sustained increases in employment and earnings for ex-prisoners. Details: New York: MDRC, 2009. 159p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 6, 2010 at: http://www.urban.org/uploadedpdf/1001362_transitional_jobs.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.urban.org/uploadedpdf/1001362_transitional_jobs.pdf Shelf Number: 120375 Keywords: EmploymentEx-OffendersRecidivismReentryRehabilitation |
Author: Johnson, Laura E. Title: From Options to Action: A Roadmap for City Leaders to Connect Formerly Incarcerated Individuals to Work Summary: On February 28, 2008, P/PV, along with The United States Conference of Mayors, the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at NYU and the City of New York, convened the Mayors Summit on Reentry and Employment, where 150 city leaders, policymakers, practitioners and academics came together from more than 20 cities to share strategies for connecting formerly incarcerated people to the labor market. From Options to Action was inspired and informed by discussions that took place at the Summit, as well as P/PV's experience in the field and a review of pertinent literature. It is meant to provide a framework for reentry efforts, with guidance for cities in early planning phases as well as those implementing more advanced strategies. The report presents practical steps for achieving a more coordinated, comprehensive approach to reentry at the city level, including identifying and convening relevant stakeholders, addressing city-level barriers to employment, engaging the business community and working with county, state and federal leaders to implement collaborative approaches and produce needed policy change. Because mayors and other municipal leaders are confronted with the day-to-day reality of prison and jail reentry and see its detrimental effects in their cities, many have already begun to seek out, test and refine lasting solutions. We hope this publication will support their efforts, as they work to interrupt the revolving door of recidivism—and offer hope to returning prisoners, their families and communities. Details: Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures, 2008. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 9, 2010 at: http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publications/assets/235_publication.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publications/assets/235_publication.pdf Shelf Number: 117634 Keywords: EmploymentEx-OffendersRecidivismReentry |
Author: Pleace, Nicholas Title: Delivering Better Housing and Employment Outcomes for Offenders on Probation Summary: This research examined the delivery of suitable settled accommodation and paid employment for offenders on probation. The study explored good practice in counteracting homelessness and in helping offenders on probation into paid work, including the roles of education and training services and Jobcentre Plus. The research had a particular concern with the sharing of personal and sensitive information about offenders between organisations. Those practices and processes that facilitated and inhibited the proper sharing of information were a key focus of the research. The study involved fieldwork in six probation areas, a national level conference and consultation event and a small number of interviews with strategic level staff in central government. Details: London: Department for Work and Pensions, 2009. 86p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Report No. 610: Accessed December 16, 2010 at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2009-2010/rrep610.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2009-2010/rrep610.pdf Shelf Number: 120524 Keywords: EmploymentHousingProbationers (U.K.)Reentry |
Author: Schmitt, John Title: Ex-offenders and the Labor Market Summary: We use Bureau of Justice Statistics data to estimate that, in 2008, the United States had between 12 and 14 million ex-offenders of working age. Because a prison record or felony conviction greatly lowers ex-offenders' prospects in the labor market, we estimate that this large population lowered the total male employment rate that year by 1.5 to 1.7 percentage points. In GDP terms, these reductions in employment cost the U.S. economy between $57 and $65 billion in lost output. Our estimates suggest that in 2008 there were between 5.4 and 6.1 million ex-prisoners (compared to a prison population of about 1.5 million and a jail population of about 0.8 million in that same year). Our calculations also suggest that in 2008 there were between 12.3 and 13.9 million ex-felons. In 2008, about one in 33 working-age adults was an ex-prisoner and about one in 15 working-age adults was an ex-felon. About one in 17 adult men of working-age was an ex-prisoner and about one in 8 was an ex-felon. An extensive body of research has established that a felony conviction or time in prison makes individuals significantly less employable. It is not simply that individuals who commit crimes are less likely to work in the first place, but rather, that felony convictions or time in prison act independently to lower the employment prospects of ex-offenders. Given our estimates of the number of ex-offenders and the best outside estimates of the associated reduction in employment suffered by ex-offenders, our calculations suggest that in 2008 the U.S. economy lost the equivalent of 1.5 to 1.7 million workers, or roughly a 0.8 to 0.9 percentage-point reduction in the overall employment rate. Since over 90 percent of ex-offenders are men, the effect on male employment rates was much higher, with ex-offenders lowering employment rates for men by 1.5 to 1.7 percentage points. Even at the relatively low productivity rates of ex-offenders (they typically have less education than the average worker), the resulting loss of output that year was likely somewhere between $57 and $65 billion. The rise in the ex-offender population -- and the resulting employment and output losses -- overwhelmingly reflects changes in the U.S. criminal justice system, not changes in underlying criminal activity. Instead, dramatic increases in sentencing, especially for drug-related offenses, account for the mushrooming of the ex-offender population that we document here. Substantial scope exists for improvement. Since high levels of incarceration are not the result of high levels of crime, changes in sentencing today can greatly reduce the size of the ex-offender population in the future. Moreover, the high cost in terms of lost output to the overall economy also suggests the benefits of taking action to reduce the substantial employment barriers facing ex-offenders. In the absence of some reform of the criminal justice system, the share of ex-offenders in the working-age population will rise substantially in coming decades, increasing the employment and output losses we estimate here. Details: Washington, DC: Center for Economic and Policy Research, 2010. 22p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 20, 2010 at: http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/ex-offenders-2010-11.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/ex-offenders-2010-11.pdf Shelf Number: 120553 Keywords: EmploymentEx-OffendersReentry |
Author: Southern, Rebekah Title: Evaluation of the ESP Funded Warbarth Project in Cornwall Delivered by Working Links Summary: The UK’s National Action Plan to Reduce Re-offending (RAAP, 2004) reported that 75% of prisoners leave prison with no paid employment to go into, whilst 55% of individuals serving community sentences are unemployed at the start of their orders. Moreover, 52% of male and 71% of female adult prisoners start their sentences with no qualifications, which is compounded further by a limited capacity for learning at many UK prisons. There is poor uptake of education post-release because of a lack of support and advice, and incompatibility between education provision in prison and the community, and between course start dates and offenders’ release dates. Many offenders (as well as those working with them) experience difficulties choosing between the range of available provision, miss out on accessing existing job-seeking support, and find that employers and education colleges are often reluctant to accept people with a criminal record (Ministry of Justice, 2004). To facilitate offenders’ ability to access education, training and employment, the Warbarth project formed in May 2006 as a joint venture between Working Links and DCPA. It is overseen by the Warbarth Project Management Group, and financed through the European Social Fund’s (ESF) Objective One funding, with match funding from DCPA and Working links, until June 2008. In terms of service delivery, Warbarth drew on the experience of two existing projects: ‘Connect’, which primarily focuses upon removing barriers to employment for adults who have received short-term custodial sentences in West Mercia, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and the West Midlands; and the Working Links ‘Progress2Work’ programme, which again aims to remove barriers to employment for people aged between 16 and 65 years old who have experienced drug dependency. In the spring of 2007, the Social Research & Regeneration Unit (SRRU) at the University of Plymouth was commissioned by Devon & Cornwall Probation Area (DCPA) and Working Links to conduct an evaluation of the Warbarth project. This report presents the key evaluation findings. The report begins with an introductory section which provides a description of the Warbarth project, the evaluation objectives, and the research methods that were employed during the evaluation. Section Two elaborates on the findings of the evaluation in terms of clients’ expectations of Warbarth, the referral process, various aspects of service delivery and its impact upon clients. Section Three concludes the report by making suggestions for future development based on the findings. Details: Plymouth, UK: Social Research & Regeneration Unit, University of Plymouth Centre of Expertise, 2007. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 9, 2011 at: http://www.serio.ac.uk/resources/files/Evaluation%20of%20the%20ESF%20Funded%20Warbarth%20Project%20in%20Cornwall%20Delivered%20by%20Working%20Links.pdf Year: 2007 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.serio.ac.uk/resources/files/Evaluation%20of%20the%20ESF%20Funded%20Warbarth%20Project%20in%20Cornwall%20Delivered%20by%20Working%20Links.pdf Shelf Number: 120958 Keywords: EmploymentRecidivismRehabilitationRepeat Offenders (U.K.) |
Author: Jacobson, Jessica Title: 'Double Trouble'? Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Offenders' Experiences of Resettlement Summary: The background to the study was the recognition of the critical importance of resettlement provision for offenders, and the evidence of continuing direct and indirect racial discrimination across the criminal justice system as a whole. The study addressed the following questions: 1 What are the major resettlement needs of offenders from BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Offenders) groups? 2 How do BAME offenders’ needs differ from those of non-BAME offenders? 3 What are BAME offenders’ experiences of resettlement services? 4 Should specialist resettlement services be made available for BAME offenders? The study had two elements: first, a literature review and, second, qualitative fieldwork. The fieldwork involved semi-structured interviews and focus groups with a total of 113 BAME individuals, of whom 65 were serving prisoners, 28 were on licence and 20 were no longer on licence but had previously been in prison. In addition we conducted interviews and focus groups with 83 representatives of service providers, including prison and probation staff and staff from community and prison-based voluntary agencies. Details: York, UK: Clinks; London: Prison Reform Trust, 2010. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 14, 2011 at: Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: Shelf Number: 120920 Keywords: DiscriminationEmploymentHousingPrisoner Reentry (U.K.)Race/EthnicityRacial Disparities |
Author: Zweig, Janine Title: Recidivism Effects of the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) Program Vary by Former Prisoners’ Risk of Reoffending Summary: The New York City-based Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) is a transitional jobs program designed to help former prisoners increase longer-term employment and, consequently, reduce recidivism. Interim results from MDRC’s rigorous impact evaluation of CEO show reduced recidivism in both the first and the second year of follow-up. This research brief expands on those results by using regression-based analysis to identify whether CEO had its greatest impact among low-, medium-, or high-risk offenders — with risk levels being defined by participants’ characteristics before random assignment that are associated with recidivism after random assignment. CEO had its strongest reductions in recidivism for former prisoners who were at highest risk of recidivism, for whom CEO reduced the probability of rearrest, the number of rearrests, and the probability of reconviction two years after random assignment. If confirmed by other studies, these findings suggest that the limited resources available to transitional jobs programs for former prisoners should be targeted toward the people at highest risk of recidivating, because they are helped most by this intervention. Details: New York: MDRC, 2010. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 21, 2011 at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/welfare_employ/enhanced_hardto/reports/ceo_program/ceo_program.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/welfare_employ/enhanced_hardto/reports/ceo_program/ceo_program.pdf Shelf Number: 121460 Keywords: EmploymentEx-OffendersRecidivismReentryReoffending |
Author: Vermeire, Diana Tate Title: Balancing the Scales of Justice: An Exploration into How Lack of Education, Employment, and Housing Opportunities Contribute to Disparities in the Criminal Justice System Summary: At a time of growing need, California continues to slash basic safety net programs and underfund public education and other critical services. The state’s criminal justice system, however, does not turn anyone away. It has evolved into society’s catchall institution. As a result, California’s criminal justice system has experienced historic growth and a correlating mass incarceration of racial and ethnic minorities over the past 30 years. Consequently, people of color are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system, and the number of women in the criminal justice system is increasing at a disproportionate rate. Systemic bias within the criminal justice system contributes to this disproportionality, but it is not the sole cause of the expansion of the system and the disparities within the system. Instead, the racial, ethnic, and gender disparities found within our criminal justice system are created in part by external socio-economic factors. External socio-economic factors, including adequate educational, employment, and housing opportunities, protect privileged individuals from contact with the criminal justice system. However, for those living in concentrated areas of poverty, especially racial and ethnic minorities, lack of access to basic necessities such as quality education, employment, and housing, increases the likelihood of criminal justice system contact. Moreover, the interventions meant to address socio-economic inequities are failing and as a result the criminal justice system is assuming the responsibilities of these failed governmental programs and agencies. With significant budget cuts for all social service institutions, the number of individuals served and the scope of available services continues to decrease. Socio-economic inequities contribute to disparities in the criminal justice system. Yet, due to a lack of data and research, it is impossible to measure the force and impact of these external factors on criminal justice system involvement and the extent to which they exacerbate the systemic and institutional bias and racism within the criminal justice system. Details: San Francisco: ACLU of Northern California and the W. Haywood Burns Institute, 2010. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 10, 2011 at: http://www.aclunc.org/docs/racial_justice/balancing_the_scales_of_justice.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.aclunc.org/docs/racial_justice/balancing_the_scales_of_justice.pdf Shelf Number: 121702 Keywords: BiasCriminal Justice Systems (California)EducationEmploymentHousingMinoritiesRacial DisparitiesSocioeconomic Status |
Author: Minnesota. Department of Corrections Title: An Outcome Evaluation of MINNCOR's EMPLOY Program Summary: This study evaluated the effectiveness of EMPLOY, a prisoner reentry employment program, by examining recidivism and post-release employment outcomes among 464 offenders released from Minnesota prisons between 2006 and 2008. Because outcome data were collected on the 464 offenders through the end of June 2010, the average follow-up period was 28 months. Observable selection bias was minimized by using propensity score matching to create a comparison group of 232 non-participants who were not significantly different from the 232 EMPLOY offenders. Results from the Cox regression analyses revealed that participating in EMPLOY reduced the hazard ratio for recidivism by 32-63 percent. The findings further showed that EMPLOY increased the odds of gaining post-release employment by 72 percent. Although EMPLOY did not have a significant impact on hourly wage, the overall post-release wages for program participants were significantly higher because they worked a greater number of hours. The study concludes by discussing the implications of these findings. Details: St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Department of Corrections, 2011. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 12, 2011 at: http://www.doc.state.mn.us/publications/documents/03-11EMPLOYEvaluation.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.doc.state.mn.us/publications/documents/03-11EMPLOYEvaluation.pdf Shelf Number: 122375 Keywords: Correctional ProgramsEmploymentEx-Offenders, EmploymentPrisoner Reentry (Minnesota)Recidivism |
Author: Altindag, Duha T. Title: Crime and Unemployment: Evidence from Europe Summary: This paper investigates the impact of unemployment on crime using a country-level panel data set from Europe that contains consistently-measured crime statistics. Unemployment has a positive influence on property crimes. Using earthquakes, industrial accidents and exchange rate movements as instruments for the unemployment rate, it finds that 2SLS point estimates are not significantly larger than OLS estimates. The unemployment rate is decomposed into various components according to gender, education and duration of unemployment. The influence of the overall unemployment rate on crime is mainly driven by the unemployment of males, the poorly-educated and the long-term unemployed. Details: Auburn, AL: Auburn University, Department of Economics, 46p. Source: Internet Resource: Auburn University Department of Economics Working Paper Series; http://cla.auburn.edu/econwp/Archives/2011/2011-13.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Europe URL: http://cla.auburn.edu/econwp/Archives/2011/2011-13.pdf Shelf Number: 123091 Keywords: Crime and Unemployment (Europe)Economics and CrimeEmployment |
Author: Ministry of Justice, Department for Work and Pensions Title: Offending, employment and benefits - emerging findings from the data linkage project Summary: The Offending, employment and benefits ad-hoc statistics release contains emerging findings from a project to share administrative data between the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The aim of the data-share is to improve the evidence base on the links between offending, employment and benefits to support policy development. Details: United Kingdom: Ministry of Justice, Department for Work and Pensions, 2011. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed on December 7, 2011 at: http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/adhoc_analysis/2011/offending_employment_and_benefits.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/adhoc_analysis/2011/offending_employment_and_benefits.pdf Shelf Number: 123502 Keywords: Diffusion of BenefitsEmploymentEx-Offenders |
Author: Orr, Benjamin Title: Labor Market Trends in the District of Columbia Summary: It has long been understood that employment and crime are related in various ways. Occupation in conventional employment limits the time available for committing crime. When employed, people also have more to lose from criminal justice involvement. When unemployed, people sometimes substitute illegitimate earnings for legitimate earnings. In addition, a criminal record can bar participation in important segments of the labor market. In view of the links between employment and crime, this brief examines the local labor market in the District of Columbia. Details: Washington, DC: District of Columbia Crime Policy Institute, Urban Institute, 2011. 5p. Source: Brief No. 11. Internet Resource: Accessed on January 26, 2012 at http://www.dccrimepolicy.org/Briefs/images/Labor-Markets-9-14-11_2.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.dccrimepolicy.org/Briefs/images/Labor-Markets-9-14-11_2.pdf Shelf Number: 123781 Keywords: Demographic TrendsEconomics and CrimeEmployment |
Author: Niven, Stephen Title: Jobs and homes - a survey of prisoners nearing release Summary: 2,011 prisoners in the last three weeks of their sentence were interviewed in November and December 2001 about their expectations concerning employment, training and housing after release. The main aim of the survey was to identify the proportion of prisoners expecting to take up employment or training soon after release. It also examined related factors such as previous employment, qualifications, housing plans and activities in prison. This Findings summarises the key results of this ‘Resettlement Survey’. Details: London: Home Office, 2002. 4p. Source: Findings 173: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 31, 2012 at Year: 2002 Country: United Kingdom URL: Shelf Number: 123913 Keywords: EmploymentHousingPrisoner ReentryReentry (U.K.)Reintegration, Offenders |
Author: HM Prison Service Title: The Impact of IMPACT - Overcoming Barriers to Employment for Ex-offenders: A collection of articles highlighting the experiences, successes and learning of working with the European Social Fund to address disadvantage Summary: This report contains a collection of articles highlighting the experiences, successes and learning of working with the European Social Fund to address disadvantage. The report outlines and explains the materials developed by IMPACT and tested for their usefulness in getting people into work. The report also offers the benefit of the learning gained within the project; it records what has worked well, what pitfalls and difficulties were overcome during the life of the IMPACT research project and what could have been done better. Details: London: HM Prison Service, 2008. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 7, 2012 at http://www.equal-works.com/resources/contentfiles/5072.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.equal-works.com/resources/contentfiles/5072.pdf Shelf Number: 124018 Keywords: EmploymentEx-Offenders (U.K.)Rehabilitation Programs |
Author: Texas. Legislative Budget Board. Title: Windham School District Evaluation Report Summary: The Windham School District (WSD) evaluated the post-release employment impact of Career and Technology Education (CTE) vocational training provided to ex-offenders during their incarceration. The study included those ex-offenders released from prisons and state jails from April 01, 2005 through March 31, 2006. This report examines the relationship between vocational training, employment, and earnings for nearly 40,000 exoffenders. The study indicates: Ex-offenders who completed vocational training while incarcerated were more likely to be employed than those who participated without completing training or those who did not receive vocational training; For all age groups and all levels of academic achievement, vocationally-trained ex-offenders exhibited higher employment rates than those who participated without completing training or those who did not receive vocational training; Vocationally-trained ex-offenders exhibited a higher average salary difference (from first quarter earnings to fourth quarter earnings) and higher average annual earnings than those who participated without completing training or those who did not receive vocational training; Overall, two out of three vocationally-trained ex-offenders who were employed earned income working in one or more occupations related to their vocational training; Vocationally-trained ex-offenders who worked in occupations related to their vocational training had a higher average salary difference (from first quarter earnings to fourth quarter earnings) than those working in unrelated fields; Vocationally-trained ex-offenders exhibited better job retention than those who participated without completing training or those who did not receive vocational training. In general, for all age groups studied, a higher percentage of vocationally-trained ex-offenders retained employment for three consecutive quarters compared to those who did not receive vocational training; Overall, ex-offenders who had attained a GED or high school diploma retained employment longer than those who had not; In the Prison/State Jail study group, ex-offenders with college degrees who completed vocational training gained employment at a higher rate than those with college degrees who did not receive vocational training; Industry certification and working in an occupation related to training appear to enhance job retention. Details: Texas: Legislative Budget Board, 2008. 51p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 22, 2012 at http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/PubSafety_CrimJustice/3_Reports/Windham_School_0208.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/PubSafety_CrimJustice/3_Reports/Windham_School_0208.pdf Shelf Number: 124229 Keywords: Correctional EducationEmploymentEvaluative StudiesEx-Offenders (Texas)Vocational Education and Training |
Author: Redcross, Cindy Title: More Than a Job: Final Results from the Evaluation of the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) Transitional Jobs Program Summary: This report presents the final results of the evaluation of the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO). CEO is one of four sites in the Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ Demonstration and Evaluation Project, sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), with additional funding from the U.S. Department of Labor. MDRC, a nonprofit, nonpartisan social and education policy research organization, is leading the evaluation, in collaboration with the Urban Institute and other partners. Based in New York City, CEO is a comprehensive employment program for former prisoners — a population confronting many obstacles to finding and maintaining work. CEO provides temporary, paid jobs and other services in an effort to improve participants’ labor market prospects and reduce the odds that they will return to prison. The study uses a rigorous random assignment design: it compares outcomes for individuals assigned to the program group, who were given access to CEO’s jobs and other services, with the outcomes for those assigned to the control group, who were offered basic job search assistance at CEO along with other services in the community. The three-year evaluation found that CEO substantially increased employment early in the follow-up period but that the effects faded over time. The initial increase in employment was due to the temporary jobs provided by the program. After the first year, employment and earnings were similar for both the program group and the control group. CEO significantly reduced recidivism, with the most promising impacts occurring among a subgroup of former prisoners who enrolled shortly after release from prison (the group that the program was designed to serve). Among the subgroup that enrolled within three months after release, program group members were less likely than their control group counterparts to be arrested, convicted of a new crime, and reincarcerated. The program’s impacts on these outcomes represent reductions in recidivism of 16 percent to 22 percent. In general, CEO’s impacts were stronger for those who were more disadvantaged or at higher risk of recidivism when they enrolled in the study. The evaluation includes a benefit-cost analysis, which shows that CEO’s financial benefits outweighed its costs under a wide range of assumptions. Financial benefits exceeded the costs for taxpayers, victims, and participants. The majority of CEO’s benefits were the result of reduced criminal justice system expenditures. Details: Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2012. 166p. Source: OPRE Report 2011-18: Internet Resource: Accessed February 28, 2012 at http://www.mdrc.org/publications/616/full.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.mdrc.org/publications/616/full.pdf Shelf Number: 124308 Keywords: EmploymentEvaluative StudiesEx-OffendersRecidivism |
Author: Bowlby, Jeffrey W. Title: At a Crossroads: First Results for the 18 to 20-Year-old Cohort of the Youth in Transition Survey Summary: This report provides a descriptive overview of the first results from the 2000 Youth in Transition Survey (YITS) for 18-20-year-olds in Canada. The YITS, developed through a partnership between Human Resources Development Canada and Statistics Canada, is a longitudinal survey designed to collect a broad range of information on the education and labour market experiences of youth. This report provides new information on high school dropout rates as of December 1999 and compares high school graduates and dropouts on a number of dimensions, including family background, parental education and occupation, engagement with school, working during high school, peer influence, and educational aspirations. This report also provides a first look at pathways followed by young people once they are no longer in high school, including their participation in post-secondary education, employment status, self-assessed skills levels, and barriers to post-secondary education. Details: Ottawa: Human Resources Development Canada, Statistics Canada 2002. 73p. Source: 81-591-XIE: Internet Resource: Accessed March 2, 2012 at http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-591-x/81-591-x2000001-eng.pdf Year: 2002 Country: Canada URL: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-591-x/81-591-x2000001-eng.pdf Shelf Number: 124363 Keywords: (Canada) Longitudinal StudiesAdolescentsEducationEmployment |
Author: Barrett, Alan Title: Childhood Sexual Abuse and Later-Life Economic Consequences Summary: The impact of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on later-life health outcomes has been studied extensively and links with depression, anxiety and self-harm have been established. However, there has been relatively little research undertaken on the possible impact of CSA on later-life economic outcomes. Here, we explore whether older men who report having experienced CSA have weaker labour force attachment and lower incomes compared to other men. We use data from the first wave of the new Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) which is a nationally-representative survey of people aged 50 and over. We find that male victims of CSA are almost four times more likely to be out of the labour force due to sickness and disability. They also spent a higher proportion of their potential working lives out of the labour force for these reasons and have lower incomes. These effects remain even when we control for mental health difficulties and negative health behaviors. Among the policy implications are the need to be more aware of the complex effects of CSA when designing labour market activation strategies such as training for the unemployed. The results are also relevant in the legal context where compensation awards are determined. Details: Bonn, Germany: IZA (The Institute for the Study of Labor), 2012. Source: IZA Discussion Paper No. 6332: Internet Resource: Accessed March 2, 2012 at http://ftp.iza.org/dp6332.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Europe URL: http://ftp.iza.org/dp6332.pdf Shelf Number: 124365 Keywords: Child Sexual AbuseEconomicsEmploymentVicitms of Crime |
Author: Rodriguez, Michelle Natividad Title: State Reforms Promoting Employment of People with Criminal Records: 2010-11 Legislative Round-Up Summary: The severe economic climate facing the states has fueled a growing recognition of the need for cost-saving alternatives to incarceration. This paper seeks to contribute to this momentum for state-level reform by identifying policies that reduce the employment barriers faced by people with criminal records. As policy makers and advocates evaluate opportunities for reform heading into the 2012 state legislative sessions, the bills highlighted here, which seek to reduce crime and reward rehabilitation, warrant close attention. People with criminal records now confront unprecedented employment challenges that are not solely the result of a weak labor market. States, for example, have collectively adopted more than 30,000 laws that significantly restrict access to employment and other basic rights and benefits for people with criminal records, according to an exhaustive analysis2 by the American Bar Association. Recognizing that many such barriers fail to increase public safety, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder urged states to evaluate and remove laws that prevent people from living and working productively. The inspiring work of state policy makers and advocates across the country has led to new model policies that allow qualified people with criminal records to compete more fairly for employment. This paper highlights these laws enacted in 2010 and 2011 and reports on state trends of concern that broadly restrict employment based on a criminal record. This paper is organized into the following policy categories: (1) inventories of collateral consequences, (2) fair hiring and occupational licensing standards, (3) restoration of eligibility for employment and occupational licensing, (4) expungement and sealing of records, (5) prohibiting discrimination based on a criminal record, (6) securing identification documents, (7) reducing child support arrearages, (8) training and job placement for people with criminal records, and (9) employer negligent hiring protections. Key developments on these policy fronts include: Three states (Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Mexico) have adopted “ban the box” policies that prescribe the point at which an individual’s criminal record may be revealed in the hiring process. Two states (North Carolina and Ohio) passed laws that create certificates that recognize an individual’s rehabilitation and thereby reduce employment sanctions and disqualifications. Thirteen states (Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, and Utah), recognizing that old, minor offenses can plague job seekers years later, took positive steps to allow the expungement and sealing of a number of low-level offenses. Five states (Colorado, Kentucky, Nevada, New York, and Virginia) created new rights for workers to more easily access identification documents and other information needed to secure employment. Three states (Colorado, Massachusetts, and North Carolina) adopted laws, in conjunction with other reforms, to limit the liability of employers that hire people with criminal records. Details: New York: National Employment Law Project (NELP), 2011. 23p. Source: Legislative Update: Internet Resource: Accessed March 10, 2012 at http://www.nelp.org/page/-/SCLP/2011/PromotingEmploymentofPeoplewithCriminalRecords.pdf?nocdn=1 Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.nelp.org/page/-/SCLP/2011/PromotingEmploymentofPeoplewithCriminalRecords.pdf?nocdn=1 Shelf Number: 124428 Keywords: Criminal RecordsEmploymentEx-Offenders |
Author: James, Nathan Title: Federal Prison Industries Summary: UNICOR, the trade name for Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (FPI), is a government-owned corporation that employs offenders incarcerated in correctional facilities under the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). UNICOR manufactures products and provides services that are sold to executive agencies in the federal government. FPI was created to serve as a means for managing, training, and rehabilitating inmates in the federal prison system through employment in one of its industries. By statute, UNICOR must be economically self-sustaining, thus it does not receive funding through congressional appropriations. In FY2009, FPI generated $885.3 million in sales. UNICOR uses the revenue it generates to purchase raw material and equipment; pay wages to inmates and staff; and invest in expansion of its facilities. Of the revenues generated by FPI’s products and services, approximately 80% go toward the purchase of raw material and equipment; 17% go toward staff salaries; and 4% go toward inmate salaries. Although there have been many studies on the recidivism rate and societal factors that may contribute to it, there are only a handful of rigorous evaluations of the effect that participation in correctional industries (i.e., FPI) has on recidivism. What research exists suggests that inmates who participate in correctional industries are less likely to recidivate than inmates who do not participate, but the results are not conclusive. The previous Administration made several efforts to mitigate the competitive advantage UNICOR has over the private sector. Going beyond the previous Administration’s efforts, Congress took legislative action to lessen the adverse impact FPI has caused on small businesses. For example, in 2002, 2003, and 2004, Congress passed legislation that modified FPI’s mandatory source clause with respect to procurements made by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). In 2004, Congress passed legislation limiting funds appropriated for FY2004 to be used by federal agencies for the purchase of products or services manufactured by FPI under certain circumstances. This provision was extended permanently in FY2005. In the 110th Congress, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (P.L. 110-181) modified the way in which DOD procures products from FPI. In 2011, Congress granted FPI the authority to carry out pilot projects in partnership with private companies to produce items that are currently manufactured outside of the United States. There are several issues Congress might consider as it continues its oversight of FPI, including whether FPI should be involved in emerging technology markets as a way to provide inmates with more job-ready skills for post-release employment and how FPI implements the new authority Congress gave it to enter into partnerships with private manufacturers. Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2011. 14p. Source: CRS Report for Congress RL32380: Internet Resource: Accessed March 18, 2012 at http://www.ndia.org/Divisions/Divisions/SmallBusiness/Documents/Federal%20Prison%20Industries.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.ndia.org/Divisions/Divisions/SmallBusiness/Documents/Federal%20Prison%20Industries.pdf Shelf Number: 124582 Keywords: EmploymentFederal Prisons (U.S.)PrisonersRecidivismVocational Education and Training |
Author: Gauci, Jean-Pierre Title: Racism in Europe: ENAR Shadow Report 2010-2011 Summary: The aim of ENAR’s Shadow Report on racism in Europe is to provide a civil society perspective on the situation of racism and related discrimination in Europe between March 2010 and March 2011. In view of the 2011 International Year of People of African Descent, this report gives special attention to the ways in which racism and racial discrimination impact the lives of this particular group across Europe. The communities most vulnerable to racism and racial and/or religious discrimination in Europe are various and remain largely similar to those reported in previous Shadow Reports. Key among the communities most affected are people of African descent, black Europeans, migrants (both EU and third country nationals), Roma, Muslims and Jews. A number of national reports also highlight specific communities who are especially vulnerable. There appears to be a link between the vulnerability and experience of discrimination, visible characteristics of difference, and the public’s perception of these characteristics. Further distinctions exist between visible minorities (including nationals of ethnic minority backgrounds) and status minorities (those whose legal status places them in a particularly disadvantaged situation in the country). In the context of employment, some of the key concerns related to minorities and migrants include: unemployment rates, difficulties in the acquisition of relevant documentation and recognition of qualifications, language and cultural barriers, discrimination in recruitment processes, the glass ceiling effect within employment, and unequal working conditions. Particularly at a time of economic downturn, ethnic minorities and migrants have been disproportionately affected by both unemployment and precarious working conditions. Issues faced in the context of housing and accommodation include difficulties in the private rental market, in accessing public housing and funds or loans to purchase property, poor living conditions and overcrowding, discrimination by homeless shelter staff, housing segregation, and a lack of awareness of rights and obligations. Discrimination in education takes a variety of forms, including structural concerns, such as segregation and discrimination by teachers, and more personal concerns, such as language barriers and bullying at the hands of peers. The result is poorer educational attainment by many members of ethnic minorities and migrants and over-representation among early school leavers. Manifestations of racism and related discrimination are also notable in the field of healthcare and include prejudice by staff and patients, significantly lower health outcomes (including greater prevalence of certain chronic conditions), language and cultural barriers, as well as legal challenges (especially in the case of migrants). In terms of access to goods and services, access to bars and places of entertainment, to financial services and to public transport continues to be highlighted as being particularly problematic. In the context of criminal justice, ethnic minorities are more likely to be stopped and searched, to be arrested and prosecuted, and are disproportionately represented in prisons. Ethnic profiling is also carried out in the context of counter-terrorism, causing alienation and frustration among ethnic and religious minorities. Moreover, ethnic minorities are victims of racist violence and crimes of various forms; their complaints are often ignored or not taken seriously by the relevant authorities. Another concern is underreporting by victims of racist violence due to lack of trust in the police and fears linked to migrant status and/or further victimisation, In the context of the media, some of the key problems continue to be inaccurate reporting, negative and/or lack of representation of ethnic minorities, the use of an ‘us versus them’ rhetoric, as well as the promotion of racism on the internet, especially through social media. People of African descent face discrimination, stereotypes and prejudice in employment, housing, healthcare, education, access to goods and services, criminal justice, and the media. Their visibility heightens their vulnerability to discrimination. Whilst most manifestations of discrimination are not particularly targeted at people of African descent, they do tend to be disproportionately affected by these manifestations. Moreover, in a context of rampant prejudice, visibility and perception of ethnic minority status appear to outplay other considerations including nationality and status. Finally, the report provides an overview of some of the key legal and political developments in the fields of anti-racism and anti-discrimination as well as migration and integration. Details: Brussels: European Network Against Racism (ENAR), 2012. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 21, 2012 at http://cms.horus.be/files/99935/MediaArchive/publications/shadow%20report%202010-11/shadowReport_EN_final%20LR.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Europe URL: http://cms.horus.be/files/99935/MediaArchive/publications/shadow%20report%202010-11/shadowReport_EN_final%20LR.pdf Shelf Number: 124636 Keywords: Criminal JusticeEducationEmploymentHealth CareHousingRacial Discrimination (Europe)Racism (Europe) |
Author: Abrahamn, Vinoj Title: The Deteriorating Labour Market Conditions and Crime: An Analysis of Indian States during 2001-2008 Summary: Incidence of crime in India has been mounting at a fast pace , especially during the last decade. Moreover, crime on body seems to be increasing in comparison to crime on property. Economics and Sociology literature on crime attributes labour market as a transmitting institution for crime. This paper is an attempt to understand the issue of crime in India as a socio-economic problem with particular reference to the Indian labour market. I argue that the poor labour market conditions in the Indian economy that has been developing in the recent past may be a prime factor in explaining the spate of rise in crime rates recently. Panel data analysis of Indian states during the period 2001- 2008 show that unemployment and wage inequality are key variables that explains the crime rate in India, especially crime on body. Education similarly seems to reduce property crime rate. Crime also seem to be deterred by an efficient judicial delivery system, however the role of police as a deterrent is ambiguous. Details: Kerala, India: Centre for Development Studies, 2011. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: MPRA Paper No. 31387: Accessed July 24, 2012 at: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/31387/2/MPRA_paper_31387.pdf Year: 2011 Country: India URL: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/31387/2/MPRA_paper_31387.pdf Shelf Number: 125759 Keywords: Crime RatesEconomic ConditionsEmploymentLabor MarketProperty CrimesUnemployment and Crime (India) |
Author: Burghardt, John Title: National Job Corps Study: Impacts by Center Characteristics Summary: Job Corps is a major part of federal efforts to provide education and job training to disadvantaged youths. It provides comprehensive services--basic education, vocational skills training, health care and education, counseling, and residential support. More than 60,000 new students ages 16 to 24 enroll in Job Corps each year, at a cost to the federal government of more than $1 billion per year. Currently, the program provides training at 119 Job Corps centers nationwide. The National Job Corps Study is being conducted under contract with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to provide Congress and program managers with the information they need to assess how well Job Corps attains its goal of helping students become more employable, productive citizens. This report is one of a series of reports presenting findings from the study. It examines whether the impacts of Job Corps on students' employment and related outcomes differ according to the characteristics of the Job Corps center that a student attended. Overall, Job Corps increased education and training, increased earnings, and reduced youths' involvement with the criminal justice system. This report asks: Were these positive findings concentrated at centers with certain characteristics or in certain regions of the country, or were they similar across diverse centers in the system? The center characteristics considered are type of operator, student capacity, region of the country, and performance ranking. Details: Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., 2001. 103p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 1, 2012 at: http://www.acinet.org/ReadingRoom/01-jccenter.pdf Year: 2001 Country: United States URL: http://www.acinet.org/ReadingRoom/01-jccenter.pdf Shelf Number: 126180 Keywords: At-risk YouthEmploymentJob Training (U.S.)Vocational Education and Training |
Author: Jani, Nairruti Title: Exploring Vulnerability and Consent to Trafficking Related Migration: A Study of South Asian Bar Dancers Summary: Lack of resources in South Asian countries compel many people to migrate to other countries, some legally, others illegally. In 2005, Over 100,000 bar dancers in Mumbai became unemployed overnight when the state government banned bar dancing under international pressure. Some of these bar dancers were forced to become prostitutes; some others migrated to other countries, including U.S., for work (Chadha, 2007). While dancing in U.S., these girls are kept under heavy security, they are not allowed to talk to the patrons, nor are they allowed to go out of their designated apartment on their own. They are sent from one city to another city, and are generally unaware of their next destination. Even though these girls have migrated with their own will, their prison like situation suggests that they can be defined as victims of human trafficking. Even though the girls actually consented, they are subject to debt-bondage, earn very little income and are denied basic liberties. This ‘consensual trafficking’ has not been studied by the academic community or by the policy makers. This research studies bar dancers in U.S. and explores the factors which create vulnerability in bar dancers to consent to trafficking related migration. The main research question is (1) What are the reasons that create vulnerability among certain groups of people who either get trafficked or smuggled? This research explores a pioneering field of research which is a recent phenomenon. This qualitative research is based on grounded theory involving in-depth data collection from the informants and the researcher. The data collection was based on auto-ethnographic principles, where the researcher observes and interacts with participants and creates a detailed field note that includes researchers own perceptions about participant interactions. Findings indicate that the vulnerability to trafficking within south Asia is characterized by poverty, gender bias, caste or religion by birth, lack of education and lack of awareness. Single women are more prone to trafficking as they do not have any support systems and are required to feed themselves and their children. Lack of employable skill makes it difficult for them to find employment in South Asian competitive markets. Another significant finding is that positive social networks and family support reduced the risk of trafficking among South Asian women from rural areas to urban areas in South Asia. However, lack of family support got translated in lack of community networks for some victims who then chose to use unknown migration networks. Traffickers employed migration agents at rural areas who deceived many of South Asia women and lured them as well as their families by creating false dream jobs in foreign destinations. Some women got trapped in debt trap of these agents who paid the migration cost for the victims and enslaved them after reaching the destination. This finding relates to theory of social support, social exchange and migration theory of network. Lack of employment, increasing age, debts and acculturation in Mumbai bars were the primary contributors to South Asian bar dancers’ vulnerability to international trafficking. Older women and Muslim women were more prone to be trafficked to gulf countries where as Hindu girls and younger girls were trafficked to western countries. After the ban on dance bars in Mumbai the vulnerability of former bar dancers increased significantly due to reduced employment opportunities. Details: Arlington, TX: The University of Texas at Arlington, 2009. 184p. Source: Dissertation: Internet Resource: Accessed September 5, 2012 at http://dspace.uta.edu/bitstream/handle/10106/2015/Jani_uta_2502D_10428.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2009 Country: Asia URL: http://dspace.uta.edu/bitstream/handle/10106/2015/Jani_uta_2502D_10428.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 126271 Keywords: Debt BondageEmploymentHuman TraffickingMigrationSocial NetworksUnemployment and CrimeVictimization |
Author: Northern Ireland. Department for Employment and Learning Title: Pathways to Success: Establishing an initial broad strategic direction and supporting cross- Departmental actions to reduce the number of young people most at risk of remaining outside education, employment or training (NEET) Summary: The issue of young people not in education, employment or training is a high priority for me, for Executive colleagues, for the young people themselves and for our society as a whole. While my Department initially took the lead on the earlier Scoping Study I have developed this suggested strategic approach on behalf of the other main Government Departments which have a key role to play in reducing the numbers of young people most at risk who fall into this category. Although this problem has been around for many years I am determined to ensure that the draft strategy is forward looking, comprehensive and will provide the foundation for the development of an approach to deal successfully with this issue. I clearly see the need to intervene early to engage young people in learning and address the risk factors that might cause them to disengage. I recognise that this issue needs to be considered in the context of cross departmental work and particularly with the Department of Education. Confirming the work in the Scoping Study, the recent Assembly Employment and Learning Committee Report, which I welcomed, stressed that the NEETS group is not a homogenous group and the barriers faced by these young people can be myriad, complex and, in many cases, interwoven and multi-layered. The report recommends that a strategy tackling the issues they face must be about coordination, co-operation, multi-agency working, referral and collective accountability, requiring all stakeholders to work together within a framework. Executive Departments, the community and voluntary sector, the different sectors of education, employers and businesses all have a role to play. The suggested strategic focus is in two interlinked parts, designed as an integrated package of active measures to prevent young people from becoming NEET; and to focus on re-engaging those young people, particularly in the 16-19 age group, who are already outside education, employment and training, and who are most at risk of remaining there. In addition to a range of actions it is recognised that we will need to put in place structures or mechanisms to co-ordinate and make these more effective. These structures will begin to set and monitor the detailed outcomes sought and adjust these as required and as new information comes to light. With all our combined good practice, experience and goodwill we are confident we can make a difference to the lives of our young people who are most at risk. (from the Minister for Employment and Learning Forward) Details: Balfast: Northern Ireland Department for Employment and Learning, 2011. 56p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 10, 2012 at: http://www.delni.gov.uk/pathways-to-success-consultation-document.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.delni.gov.uk/pathways-to-success-consultation-document.pdf Shelf Number: 126285 Keywords: At-Risk Youth (U.K.)Educational and Training ProgramsEmploymentJobsRehabilitation ProgramsYoung Adult Offenders |
Author: Justice Policy Institute Title: Working for a Better Future: How Expanding Employment Opportunities for D.C.'s Youth Creates Public Safety Benefits for All Residents Summary: Improving public safety in the District of Columbia depends on a comprehensive approach that includes multiple strategies spanning all City agencies, as well as the community at large. One facet of such a comprehensive approach is to improve outcomes for youth so fewer are either caught up in the justice system, a victim of crime, or both. This is one in a series of briefs addressing ways that improving youth outcomes can also result in better public safety outcomes for the District as a whole. A commitment to increasing employment opportunities for D.C.’s youth is important to giving them positive workplace experiences, reducing justice system involvement and improving their work and earning potential into adulthood. Quality and robust job training and placement assistance share with delinquency prevention programs the ability to reconnect disconnected youth and create pathways to positive outcomes. These programs can help empower D.C.’s young people by promoting a desire for continued education and personal and professional development. Details: Washington, DC: Justice Policy Institute, 2012. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 18, 2012 at: http://www.justicepolicy.org/research/3819 Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.justicepolicy.org/research/3819 Shelf Number: 126368 Keywords: At-risk YouthDelinquency PreventionEmploymentJob Training and EducationYoung Adults |
Author: Pyrooz, David Cyrus Title: The Non-Criminal Consequences of Gang Membership: Impacts on Education and Employment in the Life-Course Summary: Research on the consequences of gang membership is limited mainly to the study of crime and victimization. This gives the narrow impression that the effects of gang membership do not cascade into other life domains. This dissertation conceptualized gang membership as a snare in the life-course that disrupts progression in conventional life domains. National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Cohort of 1997 (NLSY97) data were used to examine the effects of adolescent gang membership on the nature and patterns of educational attainment and employment over a 12-year period in the life-course. Variants of propensity score weighting were used to assess the effects of gang joining on a range of outcomes pertaining to educational attainment and employment. The key findings in this dissertation include: (1) selection adjustments partially or fully confounded the effects of gang joining; despite this (2) gang joiners had 70 percent the odds of earning a high school diploma and 42 percent the odds of earning a 4-year college degree than matched individuals who avoided gangs; (3) at the 11-year mark, the effect of gang joining on educational attainment exceeded one-half year; (4) gang joiners made up for proximate deficits in high school graduation and college matriculation, but gaps in 4-year college degree and overall educational attainment gained throughout the study; (5) gang joiners were less likely to be employed and more likely to not participate in the labor force, and these differences accelerated toward the end of the study; (6) gang joiners spent an additional one-third of a year jobless relative to their matched counterparts; and (7) the cumulative effect of gang joining on annual income exceeded $14,000, which was explained by the patterning of joblessness rather than the quality of jobs. The theoretical and policy implications of these findings, as well as directions for future research, are addressed in the concluding chapter of this dissertation. Details: Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University, 2012. 179p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed September 25, 2012 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/239241.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/239241.pdf Shelf Number: 126447 Keywords: EducationEmploymentGangsUnemployment and CrimeYouth Gangs |
Author: Skardhamar, Torbjørn Title: Does Employment Contribute to Desistance? Offending Trajectories of Crime-Prone Men Around the Time of Job Entry Summary: Influential perspectives in life course criminology maintain that transitions to adult social roles play an important role in the termination of criminal careers. Along with marriage, employment is frequently associated with potential to assist in the desistance process. At this time, the empirical status of these claims remains contested. Although several studies report negative associations between within-individual changes in employment and offending, the evidence regarding time-order remains limited to anecdotal observations from qualitative data. The present investigation took advantage of administrative data sources available in Norway. Focusing on a sample of criminally active males who became employed during 2001-2006 (n=1,063), general and group based estimation techniques were used to examine monthly changes in offending trajectories around the point of job entry. Results show that most offenders had desisted prior to the employment transition, and that employment entailed marginal to no further reductions in criminal behavior. We were able to identify a group of offenders who became employed during an active phase of the criminal career; and these individuals did experience substantial reductions in criminal offending following job entry. However, this trajectory describes only about 2% of the sample. Overall, the pattern observed in this research suggests that employment, as a naturally occurring event, is best viewed as a consequence rather than a contributing cause of criminal desistance. Details: Oslo: Statistics Norway, Research Department, 2012. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Papers, No. 716: Accessed December 10, 2012 at: http://www.ssb.no/publikasjoner/DP/pdf/dp716.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Norway URL: http://www.ssb.no/publikasjoner/DP/pdf/dp716.pdf Shelf Number: 127205 Keywords: Desistance from Crime (Norway)EmploymentLife-Course Criminology |
Author: Dunham, Kate Title: The Effort to Implement the Youth Offender Demonstration Project (YODP) Impact Evaluation: Lessons and Implications for Future Research Summary: In the summer of 2005, the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (DOL ETA) issued a request for proposals (RFP) to conduct an Impact Study of the Youth Offender Demonstration Program (YODP). The YODP evaluation team selected by DOL was comprised of Social Policy Research Associates (SPR), MDRC, Decision Information Resources (DIR), and Johns Hopkins University. As detailed in the RFP, the intended study was a random assignment evaluation to address a number of important questions about how to work most effectively with youth offenders to prevent recidivism and increase their employment and earnings. To try to answer these questions, the study would have had courts in six different jurisdictions agree to use random assignment methodology to assign youth to a control group in which they received only standard incarceration or assign youth to one of two study groups as follows: study group 1, in which youth were incarcerated but received aftercare services from a YODP grantee, or study group 2, in which youth received services from a YODP grantee in lieu of being incarcerated. To implement the random assignment study required that the courts allow the random assignment process to determine which youth would be incarcerated and which would be assigned to a YODP grantee (essentially to be set free), instead of relying on the judge’s discretion. A similar study took place in the Wayne County Juvenile Court in Detroit, Michigan in the mid 1980s. This study randomly assigned more than 500 youths to either a control group in which youth were assigned to state incarceration or to a study group in which youth received intensive supervision as an alternative to incarceration. This study was only successfully implemented due to a set of very specific circumstances (described in detail below) that did not exist within the six YODP sites. Despite the evaluation team’s best efforts, the evaluation team was unable to convince the courts and YODP programs in any of the six selected jurisdictions to accept the random assignment methodology. As a result, DOL opted not to proceed with the evaluation. This paper describes the evaluation team’s efforts in persuading sites to implement the random assignment design, discusses the range of reasons why these efforts were unsuccessful, and explores what lessons can be drawn from this experience and other studies that have employed random assignment to aid the implementation of future random assignment evaluations. The paper begins with an overview of the six YODP grantees selected by DOL to participate in the evaluation and of the random assignment evaluation plan as outlined in the evaluation team’s proposal. Next, the paper describes the various challenges encountered by the evaluation team in implementing the original random assignment design. Following this, the paper summarizes a number of other studies that have successfully implemented random assignment and draw comparisons and contrasts of these studies to the intended design in the YODP evaluation. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of lessons learned from this effort and several recommendations that may assist DOL in implementing future random assignment evaluations. Details: Oakland, CA: Social Policy Research Associates, 2008. 42p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 16, 2013 at: http://www.nawdp.org/Content/NavigationMenu/ResearchReports/2009-5-TheEfforttoImplementtheYouthOffendeDemonstrat.pdf Year: 2008 Country: United States URL: http://www.nawdp.org/Content/NavigationMenu/ResearchReports/2009-5-TheEfforttoImplementtheYouthOffendeDemonstrat.pdf Shelf Number: 127649 Keywords: Alternatives to IncarcerationEmploymentEx-Offender EmploymentIntensive SupervisionRecidivismTreatment ProgramsYoung Adult Offenders (U.S.) |
Author: Visher, Christy A. Title: Workforce Development Program: Experiences of 80 Probationers in the U.S. Probation Office, District of Delaware Summary: Individuals returning home from prison face several common issues including finding housing, creating ties with family and friends, finding a job, abstaining from alcohol and drug abuse, resisting peer pressure to continue involvement in crime, and supervision requirements (Petersilia 2001; Seiter & Kadela 2003). One issue that has been receiving increased attention is employment and job readiness. Previous research has identified unemployment as an important predictor of recidivism (Seiter & Kadela, 2003; Uggen 2000; Visher, Debus, & Yahner 2008). However, for many ex‐offenders, finding a job after being released from prison can be a very stressful and difficult process. In some cases, they may have not had a legitimate job prior to incarceration, or they may have not been able to keep a legitimate job for a long period of time. Sometimes they may lack the necessary education or skills to obtain employment that will provide them enough income to sustain themselves. The additional burden of a criminal record also limits their prospects for many types of jobs. These individuals also face difficulties staying employed; adjusting to a new schedule, changing attitudes, and dealing with a greater level of responsibility can often be very challenging (Buck, 2000; Harris & Keller, 2005; Holzer, Raphael & Stoll, 2002). Over the past several years more research has been geared toward program evaluation and outcome assessment to determine what types of prisoner reentry programs, policies, and services work and which do not. Results from these studies help to develop evidence‐based practices that can lead to great efficiency and accountability for programs aimed at assisting men and women in their transition from prison back into the community. One specific program developed for ex‐offenders is the federal Workforce Development Program. This initiative has been piloted in several federal probation offices and involves providing men and women under community supervision with assistance to increase their job readiness (including education and vocational skills), identify potential employers, and develop resumes and interview skills with the goals of obtaining full‐time employment and reducing recidivism. While this initiative is still fairly new, preliminary research has found the program to increase employment and reduce recidivism in several jurisdictions including Missouri, Louisiana, and Vermont. In late 2006, the U.S. Probation Office, District of Delaware in Wilmington, Delaware decided to implement this program to improve employment and decrease recidivism for a group of higher risk probationers. Several recent reports on reentry programs and policies suggest that targeting high‐risk individuals is an important component of an evidence‐based reentry strategy (National Research Council 2007; Solomon et al. 2008). The purpose of this report is to present results of a pilot study to track the progress of federal probationers1 under the jurisdiction of the Delaware office after one year of being involved in the workforce development program, and assess the program’s effects on employment and recidivism. The report includes a description and assessment of the Workforce Development Program in Delaware and a comparison of the Workforce Development participants with probationers in two districts without workforce development programs. Details: Newark, DE: Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies University of Delaware, 2009. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 1, 2013 at: http://madcp.dreamhosters.com/sites/default/files/3E%20Workforce%20Dvlpmnt%20Issues%20Final%20Report.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://madcp.dreamhosters.com/sites/default/files/3E%20Workforce%20Dvlpmnt%20Issues%20Final%20Report.pdf Shelf Number: 127752 Keywords: EmploymentPrisoner ReentryProbationers (Delaware, U.S.)Rehabilitation ProgramsVocational Education and Training |
Author: Schoenberger, Nicole Ann Title: The Effect of Marriage and Employment on Criminal Desistance: The Influence of Race Summary: Life course theorists argue that key transitions such as marriage and employment heavily influence criminal desistance in adulthood among those who committed delinquent acts during their adolescence. Laub and Sampson (1993), authors of the dominant life course theory in criminology, adhere to the general principle of social bonding: if an individual has weak bonds to society, he or she will have an increased chance of committing crime. Consequentially, the prosocial bonds formed in adulthood through marriage and employment will increase the likelihood of criminal desistance. Although much research supports this notion, race has generally been left out of the discourse. Laub and Sampson (1993), in fact, note that their life course theory is race-neutral. For this and other reasons, very few researchers have examined whether and how race plays a role within life course theory. This is surprising insofar as race is an important correlate of crime, marriage, employment, and other life course transitions that are associated with criminal desistance. Because of this potentially serious omission in the research literature, the current study uses data from Waves 1, 2 and 4 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine differences in the effect of marriage and employment on desistance among 3,479 Black, Hispanic, and White men. Results show that classic life theory applies to Whites, but less so to Blacks and Hispanics. For Black men, having a job for five years or longer is the strongest predictor of criminal desistance, while the most salient factor for desistance among Hispanic men is being in a cohabiting union. For White men, being in a high quality marriage and being employed full time are both strong predictors of desistance. This research also examines several factors that are not adequately addressed in the existing literature on life course theory such as the effect of cohabitation, marital timing, and job loss. The data show that cohabiting unions increase the likelihood of adult criminality among Hispanic men. Furthermore, cohabiting prior to marriage and marrying at earlier ages increases the likelihood of adult criminality among married men. In regard to employment, the loss of a job through either being fired or being laid off increases the likelihood of adult criminality for White men, those aged 30 or older, and among higher SES respondents. The results also show that age and social class influence the effect that several life course factors have on desistance. For instance, cohabitation is a significant predictor of adult criminality among lower SES respondents, while a high quality marriage is an important predictor among higher SES respondents. Similarly, the analyses showed that having a job was a strong predictor of desistance among 24-26 year olds, while job loss was most salient among those aged 30 or older. Overall, the results from this study show that the specific mechanisms of desistance are somewhat different for each race, and that they vary by both age and social class. The implication of these findings is that life course theory is not entirely race neutral, and that it must be sensitive to how the influence of life course factors on desistance are conditioned by these important demographic variables. Details: Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University, 2012. 153p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed March 5, 2013 at: http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi?acc_num=bgsu1339560808 Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://etd.ohiolink.edu/view.cgi?acc_num=bgsu1339560808 Shelf Number: 127849 Keywords: AgeDesistanceEmploymentEthnicityLife CourseMarriageOffendersRaceSocial Class |
Author: Corman, Hope Title: Effects of Welfare Reform on Women's Crime Summary: We investigate the effects of broad-based work incentives on female crime by exploiting the welfare reform legislation of the 1990s, which dramatically increased employment among women at risk for relying on cash assistance. We find that welfare reform decreased female property crime arrests by 4–5%, but did not affect other types of crimes. The effects appear to be stronger in states with lower welfare benefits and higher earnings disregards, and in states with larger caseload declines. The findings point to broad-based work incentives—and, by inference, employment—as a key determinant of female property crime. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2013. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper No. 18887: Accessed March 18, 2013 at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w18887 Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w18887 Shelf Number: 127992 Keywords: EmploymentFemale CrimeFemale Offenders (U.S.)Welfare Reform |
Author: Lauridsen, Jorgen T. Title: A Spatial Panel Data Analysis of Crime Rates in EU Summary: The study investigates selected factors affecting crime rates in the EU-15 countries during the years 2000 to 2007 with an especial focus on inflation rate, level of education, income and employment. While these topics have been investigated in former studies, the present study adds by introducing spatial panel data methods to the case. Regarding the effects of these factors, the present study obtains results comparable to those from former studies, whereby the robustness of these are confirmed. Details: Odense, Denmark: Department of Business and Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, 2013. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Discussion Papers on Business and Economics No. 2/2013: Accessed March 26, 2013 at: http://static.sdu.dk/mediafiles//A/2/1/%7BA21BF15B-1A84-4BA6-B4A7-3AAA6E3FA6AC%7Ddpbe2_2013.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Europe URL: http://static.sdu.dk/mediafiles//A/2/1/%7BA21BF15B-1A84-4BA6-B4A7-3AAA6E3FA6AC%7Ddpbe2_2013.pdf Shelf Number: 128139 Keywords: Cost-Benefit AnalysisCrime Rates (Europe)Crime StatisticsEconomics and CrimeEducationEmployment |
Author: Brown, Christian Title: Beyond Bars: Estimating the Economic Consequences of Parental Incarceration Summary: Many people incarcerated in the United States are parents, and this may have negative effects on the social and educational development of their children. I evaluate this hypothesis empirically using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 data to estimate the effects of parental incarceration on a child's level of education and adult wages. Models of incarceration's effects control for parent and child gender, age at incarceration, incarceration frequency, and pre-incarceration household residency. The incarceration of parents, particularly mothers, is associated with lower levels of higher education and earnings. Daughters of incarcerated mothers face higher educational penalties than sons; sons face higher wage penalties than daughters. Details: Murfreesboro, TN: Middle Tennessee State University, 2013. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper: Accessed May 23, 2013 at: http://capone.mtsu.edu/ccb3g/ch1.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://capone.mtsu.edu/ccb3g/ch1.pdf Shelf Number: 128789 Keywords: Children of PrisonersEducationEmploymentFamilies of Inmates |
Author: Alvira-Hammond, Marta Title: Gainful Activity and Intimate Partner Violence in Emerging Adulthood Summary: Intimate partner violence (IPV) crosses social class boundaries, but employment and education are salient predictors of IPV. Few studies examine education and employment among both partners, particularly among younger adults who may not be married or cohabiting. Moreover, completed level of education and employment individually may not be ideal for the period of emerging adulthood. We examined associations between IPV and gainful activity, defined as enrollment in school or full-time employment, among young adults in current dating, cohabiting, or married relationships (N=618). We found that when neither partner was gainfully active respondents had especially high odds of reporting IPV. We also found that women’s participation in gainful activity was negatively associated with IPV. In cases of gainful activity asymmetry, the gender of the gainfully active partner did not predict odds of IPV. Additionally, we found no evidence that the influence of gainful activity differs according to union type. Details: Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University The Center for Family and Demographic Research, 2013. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: 2013 Working Paper Series: Accessed July 17, 2013 at: http://papers.ccpr.ucla.edu/papers/PWP-BGSU-2013-006/PWP-BGSU-2013-006.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ccpr.ucla.edu/papers/PWP-BGSU-2013-006/PWP-BGSU-2013-006.pdf Shelf Number: 0 Keywords: EducationEmploymentIntimate Partner Violence (U.S.)Young Adults |
Author: University of Chicago Crime Lab Title: Short Term Results of the One Summer Plus 2012 Evaluation Summary: In 2012, Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services designed and implemented a youth summer employment program called One Summer Plus (OSP). OSP combined a part-time summer job with proven cognitive behavioral therapy-based programming in order to reduce violence involvement and generate lasting improvements in youth outcomes. Importantly, OSP was structured like a clinical trial in medicine to generate rigorous evidence on the program’s effects – a vital contribution given that there is almost no convincing research on the effects of summer jobs, especially on crime. The program was open to youth in 13 Chicago Public Schools located in high-violence neighborhoods. This brief reports on the early findings from the evaluation study, using administrative data on schooling and crime during a 7-month follow-up period. While participants attended less summer school (4 percentage points lower enrollment) and saw no change in other schooling outcomes, they also showed an enormous proportional drop in violent-crime arrests after 7 post-program months (3.7 fewer arrests per 100 participants, a 51 percent decline). Although it is too early for a full benefit-cost analysis, if these results persist, the program’s benefits may eventually outweigh its costs given the extremely high social costs of violent crime. Future work will continue to track study youth, but even these preliminary findings provide convincing evidence that OSP was highly successful in reducing violence among adolescents. Details: Chicago: University of Chicago Crime Lab, 2013. 5p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 8, 2013 at: http://crimelab.uchicago.edu/sites/crimelab.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/Plus%20results%20brief%20FINAL%2020130802.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://crimelab.uchicago.edu/sites/crimelab.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/Plus%20results%20brief%20FINAL%2020130802.pdf Shelf Number: 129575 Keywords: At-risk YouthBehavior TherapyDelinquency PreventionEmploymentJuvenile Delinquency (Chicago, U.S.) |
Author: Davis, Lois M. Title: How Effective is Correctional Education, and Where Do We Go from Here? The Results of a Comprehensive Evaluation Summary: Each year, more than 700,000 incarcerated individuals leave federal and state prisons; within three years of release, 40 percent will have committed new crimes or violated the terms of their release and be reincarcerated. Although a number of factors impede the ability of ex-offenders to successfully reintegrate into communities and, thus, affect recidivism rates, one key factor is that many ex-offenders do not have the knowledge, training, and skills to support a successful return to their communities. Research, for example, shows that ex-offenders, on average, are less educated than the general population: 37 percent of individuals in state prisons had attained less than a high school education in 2004, compared with 19 percent of the general U.S. population age 16 and over; 16.5 percent of state prisoners had just a high school diploma, compared with 26 percent of the general population; and 14.4 percent of state prison inmates had at least some postsecondary education, compared with 51 percent of the general U.S. adult population. Moreover, literacy levels for the prison population also tend to be lower than that of the general U.S. population. This lower level of educational attainment represents a significant challenge for exoffenders returning to local communities, because it impedes their ability to find employment. A lack of vocational skills and a steady history of employment also have an impact, with research showing that incarceration impacts unemployment and earnings in a number of ways, including higher unemployment rates for ex-offenders and lower hourly wages when they are employed. Also, individuals being released to the community face a very different set of job market needs than ever before, given the growing role of computer technology and the need for at least basic computer skills. Given these gaps in educational attainment and vocational skills and the impact they have on ex-offenders, one strategy is to provide education to inmates while they are incarcerated, so that they have the skills to support a successful return to their communities. Historically, support for educational programs within correctional settings has waxed and waned over time as the nations philosophy of punishment has shifted from rehabilitation to crime control. Although there is general consensus today that education is an important component of rehabilitation, the question remains: How effective is it in helping to reduce recidivism and improve postrelease employment outcomes? The question is especially salient as the nation as a whole and states in particular have struggled with the need to make spending cuts to all social programs due to the recession of 2008 and its long aftermath. With funding from the Second Chance Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110-199), the U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded RAND a cooperative agreement in 2010 to comprehensively examine the current state of correctional education for incarcerated adults and juveniles, where it is headed, which correctional education programs are effective, and how effective programs can be implemented across different settings. The study was designed to address the following key questions of importance to the field of correctional education: 1. What is known about the effectiveness of correctional education programs for incarcerated adults? 2. What is known about the effectiveness of correctional education programs for juvenile offenders? 3. What does the current landscape of correctional education look like in the United States, and what are some emerging issues and trends to consider? 4. What recommendations emerge from the study for the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal departments to further the field of correction education, and where are there gaps in our knowledge? What promising practices, if any, emerge from this review and evaluation? To address these questions, we used a mixed-methods approach. This report first presents a summary of the prior systematic literature review and meta-analysis of adult correctional education programs (Davis et al., 2013), which included studies completed between 1980 and 2011. It then presents two new sections: a systematic literature review of primary studies of correctional education programs for juveniles and a nationwide web-based survey of state correctional education directors. We conclude with a set of recommendations for moving the field forward. For purposes of our study, we defined correctional education for incarcerated adults as including the following: - Adult basic education: basic skills instruction in arithmetic, reading, writing, and, if needed, English as a second language (ESL) - Adult secondary education: instruction to complete high school or prepare for a certificate of high school equivalency, such as the General Education Development (GED) certificate - Vocational education or career technical education (CTE): training in general employment skills and in skills for specific jobs or industries - Postsecondary education: college-level instruction that enables an individual to earn college credit that may be applied toward a two- or four-year postsecondary degree. To meet our definition of correctional education, the program had to be administered at least partly within a correctional facility. Programs that also included a postrelease transition component remained eligible as long as part of the program was administered in a correctional setting. For the juvenile program systematic review, we define incarcerated youth as individuals under age 21 who are legally assigned to correctional facilities as a result of arrest, detainment for court proceedings, adjudication by a juvenile court, or conviction in an adult criminal court (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2013). We define correctional education as any academic or vocational education/CTE program provided within the correctional facility setting, regardless of jurisdiction. As with our adult review, we permitted eligible interventions for juveniles to include an aftercare (postrelease) component, but the interventions had to be delivered primarily in the correctional facility. Details: Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2014. 156p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 19, 2014 at: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR500/RR564/RAND_RR564.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR500/RR564/RAND_RR564.pdf Shelf Number: 132085 Keywords: Correctional EducationEmploymentEx-OffendersRecidivismReentryRehabilitation Vocational Education and Training |
Author: Hurry, Jane Title: Improving the Literacy and Numeracy of Young People in Custody and In the Community. Research Report Summary: Young people in the youth justice system tend to have lower than average attainment in literacy and numeracy. This makes it more difficult for them to find consistent employment and heightens the chances of offending. As a result, education/training is identified as one of the promising approaches to reducing reoffending, and has been rigorously translated into policy in the UK, with a requirement that 'at least 90% of young offenders are in suitable full-time education, training and employment'. However, the young people themselves are often very reluctant students. There is a shortage of evidence as to the best methods of improving the literacy and numeracy of these young people. The aims of this present study were to: - observe the kind of provision on offer and how students responded to this provision - test the impact of either increasing discrete literacy and numeracy provision or contextualising provision. Details: London: National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy, 2010. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 5, 2014 at: http://www.nrdc.org.uk/publications_details.asp?ID=183 Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.nrdc.org.uk/publications_details.asp?ID=183 Shelf Number: 132232 Keywords: Delinquency Prevention Education and Training EmploymentJuvenile OffendersReoffending |
Author: Lee, Dara N. Title: The Digital Scarlet Letter: The Effect of Online Criminal Records on Crime Summary: How does public access to criminal records affect crime? Economic theory suggests that expanding access to criminal information may increase the cost of crime to potential criminals by endangering their future work prospects and thus act as a deterrent. However, increased provision of information could also obstruct ex-convicts from finding legal employment and lead to higher recidivism rates. I exploit the state and time variation in the introduction of state-maintained online criminal databases - which represent a sharp drop in the cost and effort of gaining criminal background information on another person - to empirically investigate the trade-off between deterrence and recidivism. I find that online criminal records lead to a small net reduction in property crime rates, but also a marked increase of approximately 11 percent in recidivism among ex-offenders. Details: Unpublished paper, 2012. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 12, 2014 at: http://web.missouri.edu/~leedn/OnlineRecords_DLee.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://web.missouri.edu/~leedn/OnlineRecords_DLee.pdf Shelf Number: 132337 Keywords: Criminal RecordsEmploymentEx-OffendersRecidivism |
Author: Center for Strategic and International Studies Title: Net Losses: Estimating the Global Cost of Cybercrime. Economic Impact of Cybercrime II Summary: Putting a number on the cost of cybercrime and cyber-espionage is the headline, but the dollar figure begs important questions about the damage to the victims from the cumulative effect of losses in cyberspace. The cost of cybercrime includes the effect of hundreds of millions of people having their personal information stolen-incidents in the last year include more than 40 million people in the US, 54 million in Turkey, 20 million in Korea, 16 million in Germany, and more than 20 million in China. One estimate puts the total at more than 800 million individual records in 2013. This alone could cost as much as $160 billion per year. Criminals still have difficulty turning stolen data into financial gain, but the constant stream of news contributes to a growing sense that cybercrime is out of control. For developed countries, cybercrime has serious implications for employment. The effect of cybercrime is to shift employment away from jobs that create the most value. Even small changes in GDP can affect employment. In the United States alone, studies of how employment varies with export growth suggest that the losses from cybercrime could cost as many as 200,000 American jobs, roughly a third of 1% decrease in employment for the US. Using European Union data, which found that 16.7 workers were employed per million Euros in exports to the rest of the world,6 Europe could lose as many as 150,000 jobs due to cybercrime (adjusting for national differences in IP-intensive jobs), or about 0.6% of the total unemployed. These are not always a "net" loss if workers displaced by cyberespionage find other jobs, but if these jobs do not pay as well or better. If lost jobs are in manufacturing (and "the main engine for job creation") or other high-paying sectors, the effect of cybercrime is to shift workers from high-paying to low-paying jobs or unemployment. While translating cybercrime losses directly into job losses is not easy, the employment effect cannot be ignored. The most important cost of cybercrime, however, comes from its damage to company performance and to national economies. Cybercrime damages trade, competitiveness, innovation, and global economic growth. What cybercrime means for the world is: - The cost of cybercrime will continue to increase as more business functions move online and as more companies and consumers around the world connect to the Internet. - Losses from the theft of intellectual property will also increase as acquiring countries improve their ability to make use of it to manufacture competing goods. - Cybercrime is a tax on innovation and slows the pace of global innovation by reducing the rate of return to innovators and investors. - Governments need to begin serious, systematic effort to collect and publish data on cybercrime to help countries and companies make better choices about risk and policy. Details: Santa Clara, CA: Intel Security, McAffee, 2016. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 18, 2014 at: http://www.mcafee.com/hk/resources/reports/rp-economic-impact-cybercrime2.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://www.mcafee.com/hk/resources/reports/rp-economic-impact-cybercrime2.pdf Shelf Number: 132501 Keywords: Computer CrimeCosts of CrimeCrimes Against BusinessesCybercrimeEconomics of CrimeEmploymentEspionageJobs |
Author: Reichert, Jessica Title: Evaluation of the 2013 Community Violence Prevention Programs Youth Employment Program Summary: In 2013, the Community Violence Prevention Program's Youth Employment Program (YEP) offered job readiness training, mentoring, and summer employment to approximately 1,800 youth participants in 24 Chicago-area communities. The evaluation of YEP was designed to guide programmatic enhancements and funding decisions. Researchers used multiple surveys of program staff and participants in order to obtain feedback on trainings for participants, the employment component, mentoring component, and general program operations. The following are key findings from the evaluation of YEP. About the trainings -- - According to administrative data, 1,924 youth enrolled in job readiness training, 1,686 completed training, and 1,750 created resumes. - Job readiness training participants agreed or strongly agreed that the training was well designed (72 percent, n=537), questions were answered (80 percent, n=598), materials were useful (71 percent, n=586), trainers were knowledgeable (84 percent, n=629), and they gained a better sense of what it takes to obtain and maintain a job (82 percent, n=610). - Mentor training participants agreed or strongly agreed that the training was well designed (88 percent, n=120), questions were answered (89 percent, n=121); training materials were useful (89 percent, n=122), trainers were knowledgeable, and they gained a sense of what it takes to be a mentor (84 percent, n=115). - Many job readiness training participants wanted to spend more time on developing a resume or filling out applications (n=48) and building their skills in interviewing (n=44). - Some youth wanted to spend less training time on how to dress for a job (n=45) and hygiene (n=31). - A majority of youth participants (73 percent, n=633) stated that in the job readiness training, they learned speaking and listening skills for the job and the importance of attendance (73 percent, n=632). - Most youth participants (85 percent, n=733) thought the job readiness training helped prepare them for their jobs. - Some mentor training participants suggested having more interaction between youth and mentors (n=13) and discussion on how to deal with problems, crises, or emergencies (n=10). - Mentor training participants recommended the training cover additional mentor skills, such as how to interact with a mentee, build rapport, communicate; including conversation topics, make good first impressions, establish boundaries, and learn their role as mentor (n=21). - Many mentor training participants (30 percent) commented that nothing would improve the training (n=41). Details: Chicago, IL: Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, 2014. 102p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 25, 2014 at: http://www.icjia.state.il.us/public/pdf/ResearchReports/Evaluation_YEP_Report_062014.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.icjia.state.il.us/public/pdf/ResearchReports/Evaluation_YEP_Report_062014.pdf Shelf Number: 132775 Keywords: At-Risk Youth (Illinois)Delinquency PreventionEmploymentMentoringVocational Education and Training |
Author: Bauld, Linda Title: Problem Drug Users' Experiences of Employment and the Benefit System Summary: This study was commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to examine the issues surrounding benefit uptake in England by individuals who use illicit drugs, in particular heroin and crack cocaine. Individuals who take these drugs are termed 'problem drug users' (PDUs). In addressing these issues, the study also explores the wider context of education, training and employment for drug users as well as the role of treatment. This report has two key elements: a review of the literature on drug use and benefit uptake and a qualitative component that included face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 75 drug users and ten professionals who work with drug users to explore specific issues in detail. The research was carried out by a team from the Centre for Drug Misuse Research at the University of Glasgow and the Centre for the Analysis of Social Policy in the Department of Social and Policy Sciences at the University of Bath. Details: Norwich, UK: Department for Work and Pensions, 2010. 132p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Report No. 640: Accessed July 30, 2014 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/214409/rrep640.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/214409/rrep640.pdf Shelf Number: 132849 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Abuse and CrimeDrug Abuse TreatmentDrug Offenders (U.K.)Employment |
Author: Annie E. Casey Foundation Title: Youth and Work: Restoring Teen and Young Adult Connections to Opportunity. KIDS COUNT Policy Report Summary: Youth employment is at its lowest level since World War II; only about half of young people ages 16 to 24 held jobs in 2011.1 Among the teens in that group, only 1 in 4 is now employed, compared to 46 percent in 2000. Overall, 6.5 million people ages 16 to 24 are both out of school and out of work, statistics that suggest dire consequences for financial stability and employment prospects in that population.2 More and more doors are closing for these young people. Entry-level jobs at fast-food restaurants and clothing stores that high school dropouts once could depend on to start their careers now go to older workers with better experience and credentials. It often takes a GED to get a job flipping hamburgers. Even some with college degrees are having trouble finding work. At this rate, a generation will grow up with little early work experience, missing the chance to build knowledge and the job-readiness skills that come from holding part-time and starter jobs. This waste of talent and earnings potential has profound consequences for these young people, and for our economy and our nation. When young people lack connections to jobs and school, government spends more to support them. Many already have children of their own, exacerbating the intergenerational cycle of poverty in some communities. Yet even as young people struggle to gain experience and find any type of job, businesses cannot find the skilled workers they need to compete in the ever-changing 21st-century economy. This policy report describes the scale of the challenges we face in connecting young people, ages 16 to 24, to jobs and opportunity. More importantly, we also set forth the steps needed to ensure that young people have the academic know-how, the technical skills and the essential "soft skills" to hold a job and launch a career. The best way to build these critical skills is to help young people find jobs or work-like activities. We must expand interventions that are putting youth to work and align them with public investment. Research demonstrates a positive return on investment for programs that advance academic, social and career skills. And, practical experience tells us that some young people show extraordinary motivation and responsibility when given the right opportunities. This report details the most recent research and data illustrating conditions for the 16- to 24-year-old population and focuses specifically on those youth who are neither in school nor working. It identifies barriers these young people must overcome and offers solutions to get them engaged and connected. The core argument is that business, government, philanthropy and communities must come together to create opportunities to put young people back on track in a dynamic, advancing economy to ensure their success and to build a stronger workforce for the future. Details: Baltimore, MD: Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2012. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 9, 2014 at: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED538825.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED538825.pdf Shelf Number: 134295 Keywords: At-Risk Youth (U.S.)Delinquency PreventionEmployment |
Author: Vallas, Rebecca Title: One Strike and You're Out: How We Can Eliminate Barriers to Economic Security and Mobility for People with Criminal Records Summary: Between 70 million and 100 million Americans-or as many as one in three-have a criminal record. Many have only minor offenses, such as misdemeanors and non-serious infractions; others have only arrests without conviction. Nonetheless, because of the rise of technology and the ease of accessing data via the Internet-in conjunction with federal and state policy decisions-having even a minor criminal history now carries lifelong barriers that can block successful re-entry and participation in society. This has broad implications-not only for the millions of individuals who are prevented from moving on with their lives and becoming productive citizens but also for their families, communities, and the national economy. Today, a criminal record serves as both a direct cause and consequence of poverty. It is a cause because having a criminal record can present obstacles to employment, housing, public assistance, education, family reunification, and more; convictions can result in monetary debts as well. It is a consequence due to the growing criminalization of poverty and homelessness. One recent study finds that our nation's poverty rate would have dropped by 20 percent between 1980 and 2004 if not for mass incarceration and the subsequent criminal records that haunt people for years after they have paid their debt to society. Failure to address this link as part of a larger anti-poverty agenda risks missing a major piece of the puzzle. It is important to note that communities of color-and particularly men of color-are disproportionately affected, and high-poverty, disadvantaged communities generate a disproportionate share of Americans behind bars. As Michelle Alexander argues in her book The New Jim Crow,mass incarceration and its direct and collateral consequences have effectively replaced intentional racism as a form of 21st century structural racism. Indeed, research shows that mass incarceration and its effects have been significant drivers of racial inequality in the United States, particularly during the past three to four decades. Moreover, the challenges associated with having a criminal record come at great cost to the U.S. economy. Estimates put the cost of employment losses among people with criminal records at as much as $65 billion per year in terms of gross domestic product. That's in addition to our nation's skyrocketing expenditures for mass incarceration, which today total more than $80 billion annually. The lifelong consequences of having a criminal record-and the stigma that accompanies one-stand in stark contrast to research on "redemption" that documents that once an individual with a prior nonviolent conviction has stayed crime free for three to four years, that person's risk of recidivism is no different from the risk of arrest for the general population. Put differently, people are treated as criminals long after they pose any significant risk of committing further crimes-making it difficult for many to move on with their lives and achieve basic economic security, let alone have a shot at upward mobility. The United States must therefore craft policies to ensure that Americans with criminal records have a fair shot at making a decent living, providing for their families, and joining the middle class. This will benefit not only the tens of millions of individuals who face closed doors due to a criminal record but also their families, their communities, and the economy as a whole. President Barack Obama's administration has been a leader on this important issue. For example, the Bureau of Justice Administration's Justice Reinvestment Initiative has assisted states and cities across the country in reducing correctional spending and reinvesting the savings in strategies to support re-entry and reduce recidivism. The Federal Interagency Reentry Council, established in 2011 by Attorney General Eric Holder, has brought 20 federal agencies together to coordinate and advance effective re-entry policies. And the president's My Brother's Keeper initiative has charged communities across the country with implementing strategies to close opportunity gaps for boys and young men of color and to ensure that "all young people ... can reach their full potential, regardless of who are they are, where they come from, or the circumstances into which they are born." Additionally, states and cities across the country have enacted policies to alleviate the barriers associated with having a criminal history. While these are positive steps, further action is needed at all levels of government. This report offers a road map for the administration and federal agencies, Congress, states and localities, employers, and colleges and universities to ensure that a criminal record no longer presents an intractable barrier to economic security and mobility. Bipartisan momentum for criminal justice reform is growing, due in part to the enormous costs of mass incarceration, as well as an increased focus on evidence-based approaches to public safety. Policymakers and opinion leaders of all political stripes are calling for sentencing and prison reform, as well as policies that give people a second chance. Now is the time to find common ground and enact meaningful solutions to ensure that a criminal record does not consign an individual to a life of poverty. Details: Washington, DC: Center for American Progress, 2014. 79p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 4, 2015 at: https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/VallasCriminalRecordsReport.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/VallasCriminalRecordsReport.pdf Shelf Number: 134537 Keywords: Criminal RecordsEmploymentEx-Offender EmploymentEx-Offenders (U.S.)Prisoner Reentry |
Author: Green, Claudia Title: Promising Practices in Preparing, Hiring and Sustaining High-Risk Youth in Employment Summary: The Boston High-Risk Youth Network is a coalition started by the Black Ministerial Alliance and its partners, United Way, Emmanuel Gospel Center, and Ten Point Coalition, to better meet the needs of youth at high risk, ages 12-21. The Network comprises both private and public agencies; service providers, funders, and policy makers; faith-based and secular programs; and grass roots and business groups. One of three Priority Groups in the Network, the Jobs Group is dedicated to expanding employment and job services for youth at high risk. With this report as a beginning, the group hopes to increase awareness and drive implementation of these practices among providers, employers and unions. We report here on practices that service providers in Boston and nationwide have found to be effective in preparing youth at high risk to enter, retain and advance in employment. These successful service providers ▪ Give youth good reason to come to and stay in programs by investing time and resources in fostering strong bonds between staff and young people, and giving youth a sense of belonging. Many programs also provide income in the form of stipends, wages or bonuses. ▪ Help youth to acquire both soft and hard skills by offering challenging, hands-on work and learning experiences. ▪ Give youth opportunities to practice being employees through internships, job shadowing, and even social venture businesses. In these settings, youth observe and test out how to act, how to dress, whats acceptable and whats not, how to deal with a co-worker or supervisor, how to handle instructions or criticism, etc. ▪ Provide youth with the skills and experience to move into good jobs that offer, or have promise of decent wages, benefits, and career advancement. While most young people will enter the labor market in entry-level positions, all should be oriented to career opportunities and how to pursue them when they are ready. ▪ Provide comprehensive, sustained support during training, and long after initial placement or program completion. ▪ Engage employers in defining competencies, providing opportunities for practice employment, hiring and articulating career advancement opportunities. We also report on practices by local employers and labor unions that help young people get a foothold in the labor market and begin to build a career. These employers and unions ▪ Define business needs, such as attracting new workers in order to serve a new market, bolstering an aging workforce, or stemming turnover. Youth employment organizations can help recruit, screen and prepare youth more effectively when they understand these interests. ▪ Participate in curriculum design and implementation to ensure potential candidates are well prepared. ▪ Offer role models and mentorship to help young people see their own future, and to help them adapt to the job and workplace culture. ▪ Provide youth with practice experience in the workplace so they can observe and practice appropriate work behavior. ▪ Provide incentives for youth to succeed in school and other academic programs. ▪ Enable youth to explore and understand career opportunities. Local examples help demonstrate how a local program, employer or union actually implements these practices, and how they lead to progress and positive outcomes for youth. Taken as a whole, these providers, employers and unions engage young people at different ages and stages of preparedness for the labor force, forming what one provider described as a continuum of services and employment. For a youth at high risk, real progress toward permanent employment can be slow and marked by setbacks. Every successfrom building a young persons self-esteem, to having them complete an internship or stay on a job for even a monthis hard won by the youth and the provider. Beyond these individual struggles and approaches to address them, we conclude the report with another layer of challenges that emerged through interviews with employment programs and other youth service provider, such as the lack of good information about existing programs, and the difficulty of placing young people under 18. We note these issues here because they factor into the context in which youth, providers and employers operate. We also provide an example of how a citywide coalition of youth employment providers jointly tackles some of the system articulation problems. In addition to disseminating the valuable lessons shared here by local employers, labor unions and service providers, the High-Risk Youth Network can and should strive to address these system challenges through its ongoing work in Boston. Details: Boston: Boston High-Risk Youth Network, 2005. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 23, 2015 at: http://www2.co.multnomah.or.us/County_Human_Services/SCP/files/Workforce_Development-Article-Promising_Practices_Preparing_High_Risk_Youth.pdf Year: 2005 Country: United States URL: http://www2.co.multnomah.or.us/County_Human_Services/SCP/files/Workforce_Development-Article-Promising_Practices_Preparing_High_Risk_Youth.pdf Shelf Number: 135770 Keywords: At-Risk Youth Delinquency Prevention Employment |
Author: Duran, Le'Ann Title: Integrated Reentry and Employment Strategies: Reducing Recidivism and Promoting Job Readiness Summary: THIS WHITE PAPER is written for policymakers and practitioners engaged in the corrections and workforce development fields who recognize the need for the two systems to collaborate more closely to improve public safety and employment outcomes for people who have been incarcerated or are on probation or parole. It promotes close collaborations with reentry service providers and provides guidance on prioritizing scarce resources to more effectively reduce rates of reincarceration and joblessness. The paper also outlines principles that should drive both supervision and service decisions - decisions that can help ensure that front-line personnel's efforts are having the greatest positive effect. Employment providers are already serving large numbers of individuals released from correctional facilities or who are required to find jobs as conditions of their probation or parole. Yet the corrections, reentry, and workforce development fields have lacked an integrated tool that draws on the best thinking about reducing recidivism and improving job placement and retention to guide correctional supervision and the provision of community-based services. To address this gap, this white paper presents a tool that draws on evidence-based criminal justice practices and promising strategies for connecting hard-to-employ people to work. It calls for program design and practices to be tailored for adults with criminal histories based on their level of risk for future criminal activity. Some people question why limited resources should be focused on employing men and women who have been in prison, jail, or are on probation or parole when unemployment rates remain high across the nation for law-abiding individuals. With mounting research, it is clear there are significant benefits for our communities in working with this population. Successful reintegration into the workforce can make neighborhoods and families safer and more stable. Linking individuals who have been involved with the corrections system to jobs and helping them succeed can reduce the staggering costs to taxpayers for reincarceration and increases contributions to the tax base for community services. If releasees and supervisees are working, their time is being spent in constructive ways and they are then less likely to engage in crime and disorder in their neighborhoods. They also are more likely to develop prosocial relationships when their time is structured with work and they are able to help care and provide for their families. Employment is a point at which the goals of the criminal justice, workforce development, family services, health and human services, and social services systems can converge. With budget cuts to all these systems, resources must be focused on the right individuals (i.e., people who would benefit the most from interventions), using the right strategies that are delivered at the right time. Improved outcomes for individuals returning to their communities, for their families, and for each system's investments can be realized by better coordinating the correctional supervision, treatment, supports, and other services being delivered at that point of intersection to individuals who have been incarcerated or are on probation or parole. This white paper is meant to facilitate discussions across systems by introducing a tool that can help put such a framework for coordination in place. Details: New York: Council of State Governments, Justice Center, 2013. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 9, 2015 at: https://www.bja.gov/Publications/CSG-Reentry-and-Employment.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: https://www.bja.gov/Publications/CSG-Reentry-and-Employment.pdf Shelf Number: 130032 Keywords: EmploymentEvidence-Based PracticesEx-Offender EmploymentJobsPrisoner ReentryRecidivismReintegration |
Author: de Hoyos, Rafael Title: Out of School and Out of Work : Risk and Opportunities for Latin America's Ninis Summary: One in five youth aged 15 to 24 in Latin America is out of school and not working (ninis). Nearly 60 percent of ninis in the region are from poor or vulnerable households in the bottom 40 percent of the income distribution, and 66 percent are women. At the same time, it is men who account for the growth in 2 million ninis during the last 20 years. The study undertakes a comprehensive diagnosis quantifying the problem, develops a conceptual framework identifying the determinants of youths' choices, uses all the available data to test the theoretical implications, and reviews the evidence regarding interventions that have proven effective in keeping youth in school and helping them become employed. The findings of the study offer policy makers in the region with options to provide opportunities to the region's 20 million ninis. Details: Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2015. 65p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 1, 2016 at: One in five youth aged 15 to 24 in Latin America is out of school and not working (ninis). Nearly 60 percent of ninis in the region are from poor or vulnerable households in the bottom 40 percent of the income distribution, and 66 percent are women. At the same time, it is men who account for the growth in 2 million ninis during the last 20 years. The study undertakes a comprehensive diagnosis quantifying the problem, develops a conceptual framework identifying the determinants of youths' choices, uses all the available data to test the theoretical implications, and reviews the evidence regarding interventions that have proven effective in keeping youth in school and helping them become employed. The findings of the study offer policy makers in the region with options to provide opportunities to the region's 20 million ninis. Year: 2015 Country: Latin America URL: One in five youth aged 15 to 24 in Latin America is out of school and not working (ninis). Nearly 60 percent of ninis in the region are from poor or vulnerable households in the bottom 40 percent of the income distribution, a Shelf Number: 137715 Keywords: Delinquency PreventionEducationEmploymentSt-Risk Youth |
Author: Brunton-Smith, Ian Title: The impact of experience in prison on the employment status of longer-sentenced prisoners after release. Results from the Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction (SPCR) longitudinal cohort study of prisoners Summary: According to survey data, around two-thirds of prisoners are unemployed both before and after custody. The importance of employment in supporting reducing re-offending has long been recognised. There is less understanding of why some prisoners are able to secure work, whilst others do not. Improving our understanding is a key priority for those involved in the management and rehabilitation of offenders. Between 2005 and 2010 a longitudinal cohort study (Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction - SPCR) was conducted, involving face to face interviews with prisoners during and after custody, as well as matching individuals to administrative data such as criminal records. During the SPCR interviews, prisoners were asked about events and circumstances in childhood and early life and before coming into custody as well as their experiences in prison and after release. Previous reports from the SPCR study have focused on the background characteristics of 1,435 prisoners sentenced to between one month and four years in prison (SPCR Sample 1), including childhood experiences, education, employment, drug and alcohol use, health and mental health, needs and attitudes, accommodation before custody, and criminal history (MoJ, 2010a; Boorman & Hopkins, 2012; Hopkins, 2012; Williams, Poyser & Hopkins, 2012; Williams, Papadopoulou & Booth, 2012; Light, Grant & Hopkins, 2013) These reports were based on bivariate analysis and explored prevalence of these pre-custody factors and whether they were associated with higher rates of re-offending on release. In addition, a longitudinal report (Brunton-Smith & Hopkins, 2013) demonstrated which factors identified in the bivariate analyses remained independently associated with re-offending after release from prison, once all other factors were taken into account. SPCR respondents were asked about their employment status during the Wave 3 interviews, conducted a few months2 post-release from prison. The current report presents findings about the factors that are associated with employment after release, for 2,171 prisoners serving sentences of between 18 months and four years (SPCR Sample 2). These sentence lengths are not typical, as on average, most prisoners are sentenced to less than one year in prison.3 However, longer-sentenced prisoners are more likely to access programmes and interventions in prison, and this focus on longer-sentenced prisoners may allow analysis of the effects of these programmes on outcomes such as employment after release. The research first uses bivariate analysis to describe a range of factors before, during custody and after release, exploring how post-custody employment rates vary according to these factors. The analysis then focuses more specifically on identifying the factors that were most strongly associated with higher likelihood of reporting employment after release. To do so the analysis used logistic regression, developing a multivariate model to allow several factors to be tested for their association with post-custody employment at the same time. This allows us to demonstrate which factors were independently associated with employment, when all factors were considered together. Logistic regression analysis does not establish causal links between events, circumstances and re-offending. Nevertheless, the approach allows us to identify a range of factors directly associated with employment after release from prison, and to consider the relative importance of different factors to support policy makers and practitioners working with prisoners and ex-prisoners. Details: London: Ministry of Justice, 2014. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Ministry of Justice Analytical Series: Accessed March 9, 2016 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/296320/impact-of-experience-in-prison-on-employment-status-of-longer-sentenced-prisoners.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/296320/impact-of-experience-in-prison-on-employment-status-of-longer-sentenced-prisoners.pdf Shelf Number: 138146 Keywords: EmploymentEx-Offender EmploymentPrisoner RehabilitationRe-offendingRecidivism |
Author: Bruns, Angela Title: Consequences of Partner Incarceration for Women's Employment Summary: As the rate of incarceration in the U.S. has increased, researchers have developed an interest in understanding the consequences of this expansion not only for current and former prisoners but also for their loved ones. This research has documented the limited opportunities men have to earn income while in prison and the difficulties they face finding employment upon release or earning decent wages when they do find work. However, little research has considered the relationship between men's incarceration and the employment of the women to which they are connected. The families of incarcerated individuals face a high degree of economic instability that is often exacerbated by family members' involvement with the penal system. This paper uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to investigate how men's incarceration is associated with the employment of their female partners, or women with whom they share children, as well as variation in this association. Results show that, on average, women's hours of work are not significantly impacted by the incarceration of their partners. However, there is a positive relationship between partner incarceration and employment among married women, white women and women experiencing the first imprisonment of their partners. Details: Princeton, NJ: Princeton University, 2016. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper: Accessed March 14, 2016 at: http://crcw.princeton.edu/workingpapers/WP16-01-FF.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://crcw.princeton.edu/workingpapers/WP16-01-FF.pdf Shelf Number: 138228 Keywords: EmploymentEx-Offender EmploymentFamilies of Inmates |
Author: Rodriguez, Michelle Natividad Title: Unlicensed and Untapped: Removing Barriers to State Occuptional Licenses for People with Records Summary: Nearly one in three U.S. adults has a record in the criminal justice system. It's hardly uncommon, but the resulting stigma and its lifelong consequences prove devastating for many. Sonja Blake is one of the estimated 70 million people in the United States who have an arrest or conviction record. Ms. Blake, a grandmother, cared for children at her Wisconsin in-home daycare center.[ii] After nearly a decade in business, her daycare-owner certification was permanently revoked after a change in state law, because of a 30-year-old misdemeanor conviction for overpayment of public assistance. conviction for overpayment of public assistance. Ms. Blake is one of the more than one-quarter of U.S. workers who require a state license to practice their occupations.[iii] In addition to the more typically known regulated jobs, such as nurses and teachers, many occupations in sales, management, and construction also require a state license. Critics of licensing argue that regulating occupations does little to advance safety or quality of service and instead negatively impacts consumers and low-wage workers. Others counter that state licensing for certain jobs is necessary to maintain public safety and results in higher practitioner wages and greater respect for the profession. Despite this disagreement over the value of licensing, common ground can be found in the call to reduce unnecessary conviction barriers to occupational licenses. Passing a criminal background check is a common requirement to obtain a state license. In fact, the American Bar Association's inventory of penalties against those with a record has documented 27,254 state occupational licensing restrictions. Thousands of these restrictions vary widely among states and professions. And because the criminal justice system disproportionately impacts people of color, these extrajudicial penalties - known as "collateral consequences" - perpetuate racial disparities in employment. Although no national data exists as to the number of people denied licenses because of these collateral consequences, analogous data is available in the hiring context. For example, after submitting a job application, people with records on average are only half as likely to get a callback as those without a record. And for black men with records, the impact is more severe - only one in three receive a callback. Thus, having a conviction record, particularly for people of color, is a major barrier to participation in the labor market. Details: National Employment Law Project, 2016. 85p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 28, 2016 at: http://www.nelp.org/content/uploads/Unlicensed-Untapped-Removing-Barriers-State-Occupational-Licenses.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.nelp.org/content/uploads/Unlicensed-Untapped-Removing-Barriers-State-Occupational-Licenses.pdf Shelf Number: 138836 Keywords: Background ChecksCollateral ConsequencesCriminal RecordsEmploymentEx-offender Employment |
Author: Landerso, Rasmus Title: Psychiatric Hospital Admission and Later Mental Health, Crime, and Labor Market Outcomes Summary: This paper studies the effects of an admission to a psychiatric hospital on subsequent psychiatric treatments, self-inflicted harm, crime, and labor market outcomes. To circumvent non-random selection into hospital admission we use a measure of hospital occupancy rates the weeks prior to a patient's first contact with a psychiatric hospital as an instrument. Admission reduces criminal and self-harming behavior substantially in the short run, but leads to higher re-admission rates and lower labor market attachment in the long run. Effects are heterogeneous across observable and unobservable patient characteristics. We also identify positive externalities of admissions on spouses' employment rates. Details: Copenhagen: Rockwool Foundation Research Unit, 2016. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: Study Paper No. 98: Accessed May 16, 2016 at: http://www.rockwoolfonden.dk/app/uploads/2016/01/Study-paper-NY-98_Final_WEB.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Denmark URL: http://www.rockwoolfonden.dk/app/uploads/2016/01/Study-paper-NY-98_Final_WEB.pdf Shelf Number: 139065 Keywords: EmploymentMental HealthMental IllnessMentally Ill Offenders |
Author: Oosterom, Marjoke A. Title: The Violent Politics of Informal Work, and How Young People Navigate Them: A Conceptual Framework Summary: This report explores the linkages between young people's economic engagement and their social and political engagement in contexts of violence in Africa. The enquiry started from the assumption that, in the everyday lives of young people in Africa, engagement in formal or informal livelihood activities is rarely separated from their social lives and politics, especially the politics that operate in the local economy. As young people are embedded in social and, possibly, also in political relationships, the ways in which they pursue opportunities for work will depend not only on their skills and demand for labour, but on their navigation of the political actors that shape the nature of the local labour market and economy. These issues become all the more complex in settings that are in the middle of, or recovering from, violent conflict; or are otherwise affected by high levels of violence. In these settings, the politics of the local economy might be entangled with the dynamics that sustain the violence. Details: Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies, 2016. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Addressing and Mitigating Violence, Evidence Report No. 198: Accessed June 28, 2016 at: http://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/11780/ER198_TheViolentPoliticsofInformalWorkandHowYoungPeopleNavigateThemAConceptualFramework.pdf;jsessionid=F919C664983E2A52879EE551C511DFFC?sequence=1 Year: 2016 Country: Africa URL: http://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/11780/ER198_TheViolentPoliticsofInformalWorkandHowYoungPeopleNavigateThemAConceptualFramework.pdf;jsessionid=F919C664983E2A52879EE551C511DFFC?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 139441 Keywords: Economics and Crime EmploymentSocioeconomic Conditions and Crime Violence |
Author: Litwok, Daniel Title: Have You Ever Been Convicted of a Crime? The Effects of Juvenile Expungement on Crime, Educational, and Labor Market Outcomes Summary: Despite differing terminology, all fifty states and the District of Columbia have statutory remedies allow ing records of juvenile delinquency to be treated as if they do not exist , eliminating the possibility that a future college or employer may learn of the record. Whereas most states require a n application for such "expungement " of a juvenile record , in fourteen states the expungement is automatic. Ba sed on unique data obtained from three application states, I find that expungement is rarely used when an application is required. To study the effect of expungement on youths, I develop a conceptual model to consider the dynamic incentives created by automatic expungement that predicts an increase in the incen tives to initially commit crime but a reduction in the incentives to commit additional crime as an adult . Based on this model, I estimate the e ffects of expungement on juvenile arrest, recidivism as an adult , educational attainment , and future labor market outcomes . I find no response to the incentive for first time offenders in automatic states, but I do find a ne gative effect on long - term recidivism. I also find sizeable positive effect s of ex pungement on college attendance and future earnings . These findings suggest that expungement is beneficial to former offenders with limited social costs Details: East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University, Department of Economics, 2014. 75p. Source: Internet Resource: Job Market Paper: Accessed July 11, 2016 at: http://econ.msu.edu/seminars/docs/Expungement%20112014.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://econ.msu.edu/seminars/docs/Expungement%20112014.pdf Shelf Number: 139597 Keywords: Criminal RecordEducationEmploymentEx-Offender EmploymentExpungementJuvenile Crime |
Author: Marks, V Title: Lessons in Reentry from Successful Programs and Participants The Final Report of the Reentry Employment Opportunities Benchmarking Study Summary: This report summarizes observations and findings from a yearlong benchmarking study of the Reentry Employment Opportunities (REO) program and highlights successful REO grantees and their practices in connecting justice-involved youth and adult returning citizens to work, education, and training programs. ICF International, with the support from the Ford Foundation, partnered with the Union Theological Seminary, Exodus Transitional Community, and Operation New Hope conducted this year-long benchmarking study to the Department of Labor's (DOL) employment-focused reentry programs. The REO grant programs help justice-involved youth and formerly incarcerated adults reengage society and the workforce, ultimately striving to minimize the economic and social costs to individuals, families, and communities associated with incarceration and recidivism. This study sought to answer several key questions: Which are the highest performance faith-based community (FBCO) REO grantees? What research-informed or promising practices are they using? What recommendations do FBCOs (and their youth and adult participants) have to improve services as new REO grant funding is considered? This final report encapsulated the key observations and takeaways from this benchmarking process and provides an overview of existing research on reentry best practices in four common REO practice and policy areas. It also describes specific FBCO program examples of how select high-performing organizations are implementing these practices in the field. Details: Fairfax, VA: ICF International, 2016. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 11, 2016 at: http://www.icfi.com/insights/reports/2016/lessons-in-reentry-from-successful-programs-and-participants Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: Shelf Number: 139608 Keywords: EmploymentEx-Offender EmploymentPrisoner Reentry |
Author: Bucknor, Cherrie Title: The Price We Pay: Economic Costs of Barriers to Employment for Former Prisoners and People Convicted of Felonies Summary: Despite modest declines in recent years, the large and decades-long blossoming of the prison population ensure that it will take many years before the United States sees a corresponding decrease in the number of former prisoners. Using data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), this report estimates that there were between 14 and 15.8 million working-age people with felony convictions in 2014, of whom between 6.1 and 6.9 million were former prisoners. Prior research has shown the adverse impact that time in prison or a felony conviction can have on a person's employment prospects. In addition to the stigma attached to a criminal record, these impacts can include the erosion of basic job skills, disruption of formal education, and the loss of social networks that can improve job-finding prospects. Those with felony convictions also face legal restrictions that lock them out of many government jobs and licensed professions. Assuming a mid-range 12 percentage-point employment penalty for this population, this report finds that there was a 0.9 to 1.0 percentage-point reduction in the overall employment rate in 2014, equivalent to the loss of 1.7 to 1.9 million workers. In terms of the cost to the economy as a whole, this suggests a loss of about $78 to $87 billion in annual GDP. Some highlights of this study include: - Between 6.0 and 6.7 percent of the male working-age population were former prisoners, while between 13.6 and 15.3 percent were people with felony convictions. - Employment effects were larger for men than women, with a 1.6 to 1.8 percentage-point decline in the employment rate of men and a 0.12 to 0.14 decline for women. - Among men, those with less than a high school degree experienced much larger employment rate declines than their college-educated peers, with a drop of 7.3 to 8.2 percentage points in the employment rates of those without a high school degree and a decline of 0.4 to 0.5 percentage points for those with college experience. - Black men suffered a 4.7 to 5.4 percentage-point reduction in their employment rate, while the equivalent for Latino men was between 1.4 and 1.6 percentage points, and for white men it was 1.1 to 1.3 percentage points. This paper updates earlier CEPR research that also examined the impact of former prisoners and those with felony convictions on the economy. Details: Washington, DC: Center for Economic and Policy Research, 2016. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 22, 2016 at: http://cepr.net/images/stories/reports/employment-prisoners-felonies-2016-06.pdf?v=5 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://cepr.net/images/stories/reports/employment-prisoners-felonies-2016-06.pdf?v=5 Shelf Number: 139788 Keywords: EmploymentEx-Offender EmploymentFelony Offenders |
Author: Bonner, A. Title: Fair-Chance Hiring in Action: A Study of San Francisco's Centralized Conviction History Review Program Summary: This report, published by Stanford University, focuses on the outcomes of the San Francisco Department of Human Resources' (DHR) fair-chance hiring policies (FCHP). The report evaluates how the DHR decides whether job seekers whose criminal backgrounds may conflict with the job they are applying for have been sufficiently rehabilitated and will achieve success. Multiple regression analysis is used to compare the job success of candidates with conviction histories against candidates without. The report also suggests data collection and management practices that may enhance DHR's process and assist other entities interested in implementing FCHPs. Details: Palo Alto, CA: Public Policy Program, Stanford University, 2016. 61p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 23, 2016 at: https://stanford.app.box.com/s/oxkjojpr6opcw1ky5zrzy7o02e9nae85 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://stanford.app.box.com/s/oxkjojpr6opcw1ky5zrzy7o02e9nae85 Shelf Number: 148123 Keywords: Criminal RecordsEmploymentEx-Offender EmploymentJobs |
Author: Klein, Joyce Title: Prison to Proprietor: Entrepreneurship as a Re-Entry Strategy Summary: Returning individuals face substantial hurdles in securing work including limited resumes, employer perceptions regarding those who have served time in prison, and legal restrictions that limit the hiring of individuals with certain classes of convictions. As a result, recidivism rates are high as formerly-incarcerated individuals are left with few options for employment. Given the disproportionate rate of incarceration among Blacks and Latinos, the inability to successfully re-enter the community also disproportionately affects communities already suffering from low levels of wealth and income. During the past decade, a small but growing number of funders have supported organizations developing programs that use business ownership and entrepreneurship to support successful re-entry into the community. Some programs work with individuals while they are still in prison, helping them to prepare for their release. Others work with returning individuals who have found some sort of stability and are seeking to create a business that can offer the potential to generate greater wealth, flexibility, and potential for economic mobility than a low-wage job. Mostly funded by philanthropy, these initiatives show great promise in reducing recidivism and enabling returning community members to generate income. This brief examines how connecting formerly-incarcerated individuals who are returning to the community to entrepreneurship can provide a second chance at opportunity. By analyzing research findings and several programs that currently serve individuals returning to communities, this paper discusses why grantmakers, particularly asset funders concerned with issues of racial equity, should take a closer look at this strategy while also providing recommendations for action. Details: Evanston, IL: Asset Funders Network, 2016. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 17, 2016 at: http://assetfunders.org/images/pages/AFN_2016_Prison_to_Proprietor.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://assetfunders.org/images/pages/AFN_2016_Prison_to_Proprietor.pdf Shelf Number: 147926 Keywords: EmploymentEx-Offender EmploymentJobsPrisoner Re-Entry |
Author: Bhuller, Manudeep Title: Incarceration, Recidivism and Employment Summary: Understanding whether, and in what situations, time spent in prison is criminogenic or preventive has proven challenging due to data availability and correlated unobservables. This paper overcomes these challenges in the context of Norway's criminal justice system, offering new insights into how incarceration affects subsequent crime and employment. We construct a panel dataset containing the criminal behavior and labor market outcomes of the entire population, and exploit the random assignment of criminal cases to judges who differ systematically in their stringency in sentencing defendants to prison. Using judge stringency as an instrumental variable, we find that imprisonment discourages further criminal behavior, and that the reduction extends beyond incapacitation. Incarceration decreases the probability an individual will reoffend within 5 years by 27 percentage points, and reduces the number of offenses over this same period by 10 criminal charges. In comparison, OLS shows positive associations between incarceration and subsequent criminal behavior. This sharp contrast suggests the high rates of recidivism among ex-convicts is due to selection, and not a consequence of the experience of being in prison. Exploring factors that may explain the preventive effect of incarceration, we find the decline in crime is driven by individuals who were not working prior to incarceration. Among these individuals, imprisonment increases participation in programs directed at improving employability and reducing recidivism, and ultimately, raises employment and earnings while discouraging further criminal behavior. Contrary to the widely embraced 'nothing works' doctrine, these findings demonstrate that time spent in prison with a focus on rehabilitation can indeed be preventive. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2016. 65p. Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper Series: Working Paper 22648: Accessed September 19, 2016 at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w22648.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w22648.pdf Shelf Number: 147955 Keywords: EmploymentEx-offender EmploymentIncarcerationJobsRecidivism |
Author: Donnelly, Neil Title: Willingness to pay a fine Summary: Aim: To determine whether the fine amount, the fine detection mode and the socioeconomic status of the offender influence the willingness to pay a fine. Method: Adults from NSW were surveyed about their experience with traffic fines and willingness to pay fines. 71 per cent of respondents were obtained from a CATI sample and 29 per cent from on-line surveys. Those who had been fined were randomly allocated to scenarios about paying a future speeding fine based on fine amount ($234, $436, $2,252) and detection mode (speed camera or police). Results: 2,222 (70%) of the 3,154 respondents had been fined for a parking or traffic offence. 21 per cent of this group had not paid their fine on time, while 41 per cent had considered not paying it. Higher fine amounts were associated with lower willingness to pay. While over 80 per cent of the $254 fine scenario was likely or almost certain to pay a future speeding fine, this was only the case for 69 per cent of the $436 scenario and 31 per cent of the $2,252 scenario. There was no significant effect of the mode of detection being speed camera or police. Respondents who were not in paid employment were less willing to pay the $2,252 fine than respondents who were in paid employment (63% certainly would not or would be unlikely to pay vs. 53%). Respondents who had previously considered not paying their fine were more likely to be male, younger, having known a non-payer of a fine who got away with it, had more prior speeding offences and had been fined more recently. Conclusion: Consideration should be given to conducting an economic analysis to determine at what point, the marginal costs associated with higher fines exceed the marginal benefits, at least for offences where fines are commonly used. Details: Sydney: New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, 2016. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Contemporary Issues in criminal and Justice, no. 195: Accessed September 21, 2016 at: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Documents/CJB/Report-2016-Willingness-to-pay-a-fine-CJB195.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Documents/CJB/Report-2016-Willingness-to-pay-a-fine-CJB195.pdf Shelf Number: 145628 Keywords: EmploymentFines |
Author: Yahner, Jennifer Title: Validation of the Employment Retention Inventory: An Assessment Tool of the National Institute of Corrections Summary: Purpose This report summarizes findings from the first validation study of the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) Employment Retention Inventory (ERI). The ERI is an assessment tool designed to detect potential job loss risks and needs among justice-involved and behavioral health populations. Scope From September 2013 to August 2016, the Urban Institute (Urban) worked collaboratively with NIC's Community Services Division to assess the ability of the ERI to predict employment-related risks and job loss among criminal justice-involved individuals in two diverse jurisdictions - Jackson County, OR and Allegheny County, PA. Researchers also examined the relationship between employment and recidivism. Methods In both study sites, individuals on probation and parole were recruited for study participation from May to October 2014; a total of 253 employed and 159 unemployed individuals participated in the study. Study participation included baseline completion of a short online survey in which the ERI was embedded, and collection of follow-up data on employment and recidivism eight and 12 months later, respectively. Findings Overall, items in the ERI showed strong face and content validity and readability at a 6th grade level, with study participants reporting ease and comfort in taking the computerized, self-administered questionnaire. Looking at the ERI's predictive validity, the instrument performed fair overall with excellent ratings for those in rural Jackson County. Findings also support a linkage between employment retention and recidivism. Next Steps A replication validation of the ERI is currently underway to assess the instrument's validity for a larger sample of individuals, covering the full array of employment experiences for justice-involved and behavioral health populations. The goal is to study the ERI's implementation in practice, when administered by NIC-trained Employment Retention Specialists and applied to individuals from a diversity of backgrounds. Details: Washington, DC: Urban Institute, 2016. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 21, 2017 at: http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/85331/validation-of-the-employment-retention-inventory_0.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/85331/validation-of-the-employment-retention-inventory_0.pdf Shelf Number: 146651 Keywords: EmploymentEx-Offender EmploymentJobsParoleesProbationersRecidivism |
Author: Duane, Marina Title: Criminal Background Checks: Impact on Employment and Recidivism Summary: Criminal background checks continue to be a routine practice among many employers in the United States. According to a recent survey, almost 60 percent of employers screen job applicants for their criminal histories. Despite their prevalence, criminal background checks often generate flawed or incomplete reports, with some reports failing to include conviction information. Such flaws may undermine the value of the screenings to employers and prevent suitable candidates who pose no additional risk to the public from securing a job. This report examines criminal background checks as a significant collateral consequence for justice-involved people and explores the importance of employment to reducing recidivism. Details: Washington, DC: Urban Institute, Justice Policy Center, 2017. 26p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 4, 2017 at: http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/88621/2017.03.01_criminal_background_checks_report_finalized.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/88621/2017.03.01_criminal_background_checks_report_finalized.pdf Shelf Number: 141332 Keywords: Criminal Background ChecksCriminal RecordsEmploymentEx-Offender EmploymentRecidivism |
Author: Banks, Duren Title: National Sources of law Enforcement Employment Data Summary: This report describes and compares three law enforcement employment data sources: 1) the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, 2) the Census Bureau's Annual Survey of Public Employment and Payroll (ASPEP), and 3) the Bureau of Justice Statistics' Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies (CSLLEA). The three sources provide information about the nature and scope of law enforcement employment in the United States. The sources use different definitions and vary in their periodicity and levels of coverage. This report provides recommended uses for the data sources. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2016. 17p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 28, 2017 at: https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/nsleed.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/nsleed.pdf Shelf Number: 144599 Keywords: EmploymentLaw Enforcement Officers Police Officers |
Author: Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (Germany) Title: Employment Promotion in Contexts of Conflict, Fragility and Violence: Opportunities and Challenges for Peacebuilding Summary: Engaging in contexts of conflict, fragility and violence is highly relevant to development cooperation. Over 1.5 billion people live in countries that are affected by the consequences of conflict, fragility and violence. Fragile and conflict-affected states lagged behind in achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and fragility is likely to be the main obstacle to the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Kaplan, 2015). Directing development cooperation towards resolving conflict, fragility and violence as well as working according to certain principles in order not to aggravate the situation and to obtain envisaged development objectives are key for engagement in fragile states. This paper presents evidence that links employment promotion to conflict, fragility and violence, drawing on literature and practices in the field of employment promotion in these contexts. The aim of the paper is to reveal the peacebuilding-potential of employment promotion in overcoming fragility and conflict on the one hand (working on conflict, fragility and violence) and the particular challenges for employment approaches in these settings on the other hand (context-sensitivity / working in conflict, fragility and violence). Details: Bonn: Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ); Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), 2017. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 28, 2017 at: http://www2.giz.de/wbf/4tDx9kw63gma/giz2015-0712en-employment-conflict-fragility-violence.pdf Year: 2017 Country: International URL: http://www2.giz.de/wbf/4tDx9kw63gma/giz2015-0712en-employment-conflict-fragility-violence.pdf Shelf Number: 145180 Keywords: EmploymentSocioeconomic Conditions and Crime Unemployment and crime Violence |
Author: Clifasefi, Seema L. Title: LEAD Program Evaluation: The Impact of LEAD on Housing, Employment and Income/Benefits Summary: This report describes findings for LEAD participants in terms of their housing, employment, and income/benefits both prior and subsequent to their referral to LEAD. Participants were significantly more likely to obtain housing, employment and legitimate income in any given month subsequent to their LEAD referral (i.e., during the 18-month follow-up) compared to the month prior to their referral (i.e., baseline). Details: Seattle: Harm Reduction Research and Treatment Lab University of Washington - Harborview Medical Center, 2016. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 14, 2017 at: http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/1185392/27047605/1464389327667/housing_employment_evaluation_final.PDF?token=wDGLg%2FqS9%2F%2BU7RqNSghgCggBUkA%3D Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/1185392/27047605/1464389327667/housing_employment_evaluation_final.PDF?token=wDGLg%2FqS9%2F%2BU7RqNSghgCggBUkA%3D Shelf Number: 146091 Keywords: Alternatives to Incarceration Drug Offenders EmploymentHousingOffender Diversion Programs ProstitutesTreatment Programs |
Author: Fontaine, Jocelyn Title: Promoting the Economic Stability of Fathers with Histories of Incarceration. Activities and Lessons from Six Responsible Fatherhood Programs Summary: People return from incarceration with limited resources, accumulated debt, weak employment histories, and no means of supporting themselves financially (McLean and Thompson 2007; Visher, Debus, and Yahner 2008; Visher, Yahner, and La Vigne 2010). For many of these people, their ability to achieve economic stability in the community is exacerbated by other reentry challenges they might face that may preclude or hinder their ability to find and maintain employment (La Vigne and Kachnowski 2005; La Vigne, Shollenberger, and Debus 2009; La Vigne, Visher, and Castro 2004; Visher and Courtney 2007; Visher et al. 2004, Visher, Yahner, and La Vigne 2010). Adding to the importance of their achieving economic stability, the majority of people returning to their communities after incarceration also have minor children and/or family members who rely on them financially and emotionally (Fontaine et al. 2015; Glaze and Maruschak 2008). Furthermore, the communities where people with criminal justice histories are concentrated are often economically disadvantaged (Fontaine et al. 2015; Lynch and Sabol 2004; Rose and Clear 1998). Details: Washington, DC: Urban Institute, 2017. 21p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 16, 2017 at: http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/89781/economic_stability_brief_1.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/89781/economic_stability_brief_1.pdf Shelf Number: 146211 Keywords: EmploymentEx-offender EmploymentEx-offendersParentingPrisoner Reentry |
Author: Deiana, Claudio Title: The Bitter Side of Trade Shocks: Local Labour Market Conditions and Crime in the US Summary: This paper analyses the effect of a change in local labour market conditions induced by a trade shock on crime in the US. Over the last three decades, the US economy has been gravely shaped by international trade shocks, and China played a crucial role as a major global exporter. This study documents that the increasing exposure to Chinese competitiveness has indirectly contributed to the change in the propensity to commit crime through a reduction of the expected labour market earnings. I exploit the cross-market variation in import exposure stemming from initial differences in industry specialisation as an instrument for the local labour market conditions. The empirical evidence from the current study suggests a more than proportional elasticity of crime with respect to a decrease in labour earnings originated by Chinese import penetration. Details: Unpublished paper, 2016. 50. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 28, 2017 at: https://editorialexpress.com/cgi-bin/conference/download.cgi?db_name=COMPIE2016&paper_id=69 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://editorialexpress.com/cgi-bin/conference/download.cgi?db_name=COMPIE2016&paper_id=69 Shelf Number: 148512 Keywords: Economics and Crime EmploymentJobs Labor Market |
Author: Hunt, Priscillia Title: Breaking Down Barriers: Experiments into Policies That Might Incentivize Employers to Hire Ex-Offenders Summary: The rate of criminal punishment in the United States has had far-reaching economic consequences, in large part because people with criminal records are marginalized within the labor market. Given these negative economic implications, federal, state and local officials have developed a host of policies to encourage employers to hire ex-offenders, with varying degrees of success. To inform policies and programs aimed at improving employment rates for ex-offenders, we examined employer preferences regarding policy options targeted to incentivize hiring individuals with one nonviolent felony conviction. In our experiments, we found employers were 69 percent more likely to consider hiring an ex-offender if a hiring agency also provides a guaranteed replacement worker in the event the ex-offender was deemed unsuitable and 53 percent more likely to hire an ex-offender who can provide a certificate of validated positive previous work performance history. Having consistent transportation provided by a hiring agency increased the likelihood of being considered for hire by 33 percent. Employers also were found to be 30 percent more likely to consider an ex-offender for hire if the government increases the tax credit from 25 percent of the worker's wages (up to $2,500) to 40 percent (up to $5,000) - double the current maximum amount allowed by the Work Opportunity Tax Credit - and 24 percent more likely to hire an ex-offender if the government completed all tax-related paperwork. Key Findings Worker Replacement and Fee Discounts Increase Hiring Prospects for Ex-Offenders With a baseline policy of a discount on a staffing agency fee set at 25 percent of the hourly wage and post-conviction certification verifying adherence to company rules or code of safe practices, 4.3 out of 10 employers would consider hiring an ex-offender. With the same baseline policy and a guaranteed replacement worker program, in which an agency would send a replacement worker if the ex-offender is unsuitable, that number rises to 7.3 out of 10. Six in ten employers would advance a candidate with this professional and criminal background if the candidate used a staffing agency with a 50-percent discount instead of a 25-percent discount. Tax Credits Have a Similarly Positive Effect With a baseline policy of a tax credit for 25 percent of a worker's wages (up to $2,500) after a worker has put in 120 hours and a post-conviction certification verifying adherence to company rules or code of safe practices, 5.9 out of 10 employers would consider hiring an ex-offender. With the same baseline policy and a 40-percent tax credit (up to $5,000), the number rises to 7.7 employers out of 10. Seven in ten employers would advance the candidate if the government, rather than the employer, completed the relevant tax forms to receive the tax credit. Employer Access to Previous Performance Could Factor into Hiring With the same baseline policy as considered for tax credits and a certificate of validated work performance history, that number rises from 5.9 out of 10 employers to 8.1 out of 10. Employer Concerns in Hiring Ex-Offenders From a specific list provided in the survey, the top-cited concern was "any violent felony conviction," which was chosen as the most important issue by 53.3 percent of respondents and as the second most important issue by 24.5 percent of respondents. This may partially reflect concerns related to negligent hiring liability, but it may reflect other issues, as well. Another primary concern stated by employers was "skills to get the job done," which was ranked as the first or second most important issue to consider by 45.4 percent of respondents. Recommendations Staffing agencies and reentry or reintegration programs could increase the likelihood of employment for people with a criminal record if they guarantee prospective employers a replacement employee. State policymakers should consider expanding post-conviction certification programs. Across both the tax credit and staffing agency discount experiments, employers demonstrate a clear preference for wanting to know whether an ex-offender job candidate has a consistent work history and verifiable positive employment references versus simply knowing whether the person follows company codes of conduct. Tax agencies should consider reducing the paperwork that companies have to fill out for credits. Government agencies could also consider providing help to prepare and submit the forms. Ensuring reliable transportation to and from a job site for candidates with a criminal record increases the likelihood an employer will support hiring such individuals. As with reducing paperwork, the impact of this policy is more limited than many of our other tested policy features. Details: Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2018. 28p., app. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 19, 2018 at: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2142.html Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2142.html Shelf Number: 148870 Keywords: Employment Ex-Offender EmploymentPrisoner ReentryRecidivism |
Author: Bhuller, Manudeep Title: Intergenerational Effects of Incarceration Summary: An often overlooked population in discussions of prison reform is the children of inmates. How a child is affected depends both on what incarceration does to their parent and what they learn from their parent's experience. To overcome endogeneity concerns, we exploit the random assignment of judges who differ in their propensity to send defendants to prison. Using longitudinal data for Norway, we find that imprisonment has no effect on fathers' recidivism but reduces their employment by 20 percentage points. We find no evidence that paternal incarceration affects a child's criminal activity or school performance. Details: Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2018. Source: Internet Resource: NBER Working Paper No. 24227: Accessed January 22, 2018 at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w24227 Year: 2018 Country: Norway URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w24227 Shelf Number: 148903 Keywords: children of PrisonersEmploymentIntergenerational Crime |
Author: Oliver, Ashley Title: Employment Barriers and Attitude to Employment for Male Ex-offenders Summary: Working is a central aspect of life, as employment is a means of survival and it allows for both social interaction and self-determination. One group in particular has historically struggled to obtain employment, namely ex-offenders. Despite the large number of unemployed ex-offenders, counseling psychology has not paid much attention to the specific vocational needs for this particular population. This study describes the difficulties that male ex-offenders have when trying to obtain employment. Specifically, the relationship between perceived barriers to employment and job search attitudes are examined in an adult male non-violent and violent offender population. The participants included 150 English-speaking adult males with a criminal record, aged 18 and older, and who were currently unemployed. Results supported that there is a relationship between their perceived barriers to employment and job search attitude. Results also supported a relationship between type of offense committed (violent vs. non-violent), total number of criminal convictions, and highest level of education completed and their Barriers to Employment Success overall score and Job Search Attitude overall score, with the most significant relationship being between highest level of education and one's overall barriers to employment. Results suggest that vocational programs should take more of a holistic approach, and incorporate interventions that are targeted at improving offenders' attitudes, such as motivational interviewing, because it may help decrease their employment concerns and perceived employment barriers, and improve their attitudes. Details: Cleveland,: Cleveland State University, 2017. 164p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 8, 2018 at: https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=csu1503315587714708&disposition=inline Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=csu1503315587714708&disposition=inline Shelf Number: 150112 Keywords: EmploymentEx-offender EmploymentJobsPrisoner Reentry |
Author: Society for Human Resource Management Title: Workers with Criminal Records: A Survey by the Society for Human Resource Management and the Charles Koch Institute Summary: The number of Americans with a criminal history is on the rise, and nearly one-third of the adult working-age population has a record. A new nationwide study commissioned by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Charles Koch Institute (CKI) finds that, while these Americans do face additional scrutiny during the hiring process, many employees, managers, and Human Resources (HR) professionals, are open to working with and hiring people with criminal histories. At a time when unemployment nears a record low, many employers are finding that they need to consider new sources of workers. For many organizations, individuals with criminal records can be a good source of untapped talent. SHRM and CKI have begun investigating the attitudes and opinions of managers, non-managers, and HR professionals towards this policy. Every organization must decide if and how it will approach hiring workers with criminal records. In many cases, these important conversations have not yet taken place. Employers who choose to pursue this talent source need to understand how to manage both real and perceived risks of this hiring practice and must communicate their policies and practices to their employees. HR professionals have an opportunity to create a dialog among decision-makers within their organization. Details: Alexandria, VA: SHRM, 2018. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 26, 2018 at: https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/research-and-surveys/Documents/SHRM-CKI%20Workers%20with%20Criminal%20Records%20Issue%20Brief%202018-05-17.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/research-and-surveys/Documents/SHRM-CKI%20Workers%20with%20Criminal%20Records%20Issue%20Brief%202018-05-17.pdf Shelf Number: 150699 Keywords: Criminal Records EmploymentEx-Offenders Employment |
Author: Germain, Justin Title: Opioid Use Disorder, Treatment, and Barriers to Employment Among TANF Recipients Summary: This report identifies the state of current research on the prevalence of opioid use disorder and treatment services among Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participants and the TANF-eligible population. Additional emphasis is provided on how opioid use disorder negatively affects work-readiness and employment attainment. Funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families, this project aims to improve economic well-being and increase TANF agencies' knowledge base. This report is based on a literature review of opioid use disorder treatment strategies and information on the effects of opioids in the TANF, TANF-eligible, and low-income populations. Opioid use disorder in the United States has skyrocketed since 2010. Opioids contributed to 42,249 American overdose deaths in 2016, and this rate continues to swell. Little contemporary research has been conducted on the effects of this surge on the TANF population. Existing research about the opioid crisis primarily focuses on its effects on the general population, while TANF-centered studies almost exclusively examine general substance use disorder. Available research suggests that opioid and substance use disorders are significant barriers to employment for low-income individuals. Treatment and prevention strategies that consider substance use disorders as one of many social, economic, and psychological barriers to employability tend to be more effective in promoting recovery and integration within the labor market. Key takeaways of this report include the following: To date, limited research exists on the magnitude of opioid use disorder within the TANF and TANF-eligible populations. However, individuals in poverty are more likely to be dependent on opioids than those with incomes over 200% of the federal poverty line. This appears disproportionately harmful to the TANF population, although geographic trends should also be considered. Opioid use disorder falls within a web of coexisting problems that exacerbate low-income individuals' difficulties in securing employment. Promising strategies for opioid use disorder include medication-assisted treatment (MAT), prescription drug monitoring and national prescribing guidelines, contingency management, and community prevention coalitions. Few opioid use disorder programs tailor their assessment, treatment, prevention, or recovery services specifically to TANF recipients' needs. While this review identified substantial information about the extent of opioid use disorder and the barriers to employment it creates, it also revealed gaps, especially the lack of strategies targeting TANF and TANF-eligible populations. Information about opioid treatment strategies targeted at employment and work-readiness for TANF recipients is limited. Some strategies have shown promise-sometimes using non-experimental methods or with different populations-and could be evaluated for TANF. This includes better screening and assessment tools, Intensive Case Management (ICM), treatment addressing coexisting issues, and the Individualized Placement and Support (IPS) model of supported employment. Details: Washington, DC: Office of Family Assistance, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2018. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: OFA Report #1-2018,: Accessed March 18, 2019 at: https://mefassociates.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/TANF_Opioid_Literature_-Review.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://mefassociates.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/TANF_Opioid_Literature_-Review.pdf Shelf Number: 155018 Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction EmploymentOpioid Abuse Opioid Epidemic Prescription Drug Abuse Substance Abuse Treatment Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) |
Author: Neighly, Madeline Title: A Healthy Balance: Expanding Health Care Job Opportunities for Californians with a Criminal Record While Ensuring Patient Safety and Security Summary: The rapidly growing health care industry presents a major economic opportunity for the nation and for states such as California. Health care and related occupations are expected to account for half of California's top 20 fastest-growing fields between 2010 and 2020. There is especially strong and growing demand for entry-level health care workers. The number of home health aides employed to care for the state's aging population, for example, is projected to increase by over 50 percent by 2020. Employment for personal care aides, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics is expected to significantly expand as well. Entry-level health care jobs offer opportunity to job-seekers with limited skills and education. It is critical that these job opportunities be available to all qualified workers, including workers from underserved ethnically and racially diverse communities, who possess the cultural competency to deliver quality care to their communities. Unfortunately, too many job seekers from these communities are shut out of such job opportunities because of a criminal record, despite the fact that the vast majority of arrests in California, especially of people of color, are for non-violent offenses. The critical question explored in this report is whether these viable entry-level health care occupations will be available to qualified workers with a criminal record, who now constitute one in four adult Californians. This report uses legal and empirical research coupled with interviews of stakeholders to document and evaluate the role that criminal background checks play in limiting access to health care jobs in California. Although much more work remains to be done, the report's findings and recommendations, which are summarized below, help lay the groundwork for a more informed debate of the issues and of the most promising options to help remove unnecessary barriers to employment of people with a criminal record. Details: New York: National Employment Law Project, 2014. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed May 15, 2019 at: https://s27147.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Healthy-Balance-Full-Report.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://s27147.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Healthy-Balance-Full-Report.pdf Shelf Number: 155857 Keywords: Criminal Background Checks Criminal Records EmploymentEx-Offender Employment (U.S.) Health Care Industry Jobs |