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Date: April 19, 2024 Fri
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20 results foundAuthor: 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: 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: Gupte, Jaideep Title: Can Targeted Transition Services for Young Offenders Foster Pro-Social Attitudes and Behaviours in Urban Settings? Evidence from the Evaluation of the Kherwadi Social Welfare Association's Yuva Parivartan ProgrammeJaideep Summary: Can targeted preventive action and access to employment for school dropouts act as a preventive measure against delinquency and crime? Kherwadi Social Welfare Association's Yuva Parivartan (Youth Betterment) programme is evaluated through a mixed-methods approach on the following five programme-specific Sub-Questions (SQs): SQ1: Is the Yuva Parivartan (YP) programme effective at imparting on youth a set of prosocial values that are consistent with job-seeking and crime-avoidance behaviours? SQ2: Are the benefits of the YP programme reaching the population who self-report committing a crime? SQ3: Does the YP programme lead to pro-social behavioural changes? SQ4: Is there a relationship between attitudes towards aggressive and/or violent behaviour, entitlement, anti-social intent and employment outcomes? SQ5: Does the YP programme manage to instill a feeling of confidence among the trainees about their future prospects of finding a job? The evaluation design enables a critical comparison of employment outcomes and behavioural changes among cohorts of school dropouts varying by time since participating in the vocational training programme. Results are interpreted in conjunction with detailed indepth narratives describing the experiences of young offenders as well as key insights into the perceptions of programme effectiveness. The sample comprised 1,207 youth (average age of 20 years), who were either aspiring to enroll in the programme, were currently enrolled, or had graduated from the programme up to three years prior to the survey. Respondents within each group were randomly selected from a roster of all programme participants past, present and prospective across urban Maharashtra. Details: Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies, 2015. 71p. Source: Internet Resource: Evidence Report no. 136: Accessed July 13, 2015 at: http://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/6167/ER136_CanTargetedTransitionServicesforYoungOffendersFosterPro-SocialAttitudesandBehavioursinUrbanSettings.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2015 Country: India URL: http://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/123456789/6167/ER136_CanTargetedTransitionServicesforYoungOffendersFosterPro-SocialAttitudesandBehavioursinUrbanSettings.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 136010 Keywords: Delinquency PreventionEmployment ProgramsJobsJuvenile OffendersSchool DropoutsYouthful Offenders |
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: Yelowitz, Aaron Title: Prison-To-Work: The Benefits of Intensive Job-Search Assistance for Former Inmates Summary: Of the 650,000 inmates released from prisons and jails in the United States each year, as many as two-thirds will be arrested for a new offense within three years. This study evaluates the impact of enhanced job-readiness training and job-search assistance on reducing recidivism rates among ex-offenders. Programs offering enhanced job assistance are far from the norm. The program used in this study-developed by an employment agency that assists ex-offenders, welfare recipients, and other "hard-to-serve" clients-differs from other job services in scope and focus. The program, America Works, is condensed into an intense one- or two-week period. It uses a tough-love approach, stressing interpersonal communication and such "soft" skills as time and anger management. It places special attention on teaching practical skills that many former inmates never acquired, such as resume preparation, search strategies, and interview techniques. And it uses a network of employers, who are open to hiring ex-offenders and with whom it has long-term relationships, to place clients. Its goal is not only to help former inmates find jobs but also to keep jobs, and it provides follow-up services for six months. In 2005, the program provided job-readiness classes to 1,000 ex-offenders, placing 700 in jobs. America Works receives referrals from agencies in New York City, including the city government's Human Resources Administration (HRA), work-release centers, and the city's Rikers Island Correctional Facility. By contrast, typical services offered to ex-offenders provide far less job-readiness training over a less concentrated period. Instead of providing placement services, such programs generally limit assistance to self-directed job searches. This paper's key finding is that training designed to quickly place former inmates in jobs significantly decreases the likelihood that ex-offenders with nonviolent histories will be rearrested. Only 31.1 percent of nonviolent ex-offenders who received enhanced training were arrested during the 18 to 36 months in which they were tracked, compared with 50 percent of similar participants who received standard training. In contrast, former inmates with histories of violence were rearrested at virtually the same pace, whether they received enhanced training or not: 44.6 percent versus 42.6 percent, respectively. Findings for criminal convictions show similar patterns for arrests. These results suggest that extra help in looking for work upon release from jail or prison can pay off in a big way but not for all types of former offenders. Enhanced assistance is most effective for those without a history of violence and with few prior charges-while the additional help is far less effective for those with a more difficult history, including violence or many prior charges. Very little research has been conducted on this topic. The results of this study have important implications for government policymakers, public and private social welfare agencies, and, of course, employers. Indeed, at a time of ever-tightening federal and state budgets and ever-rising costs of incarceration, the Obama administration and many state governments are seeking ways to reduce swollen prison populations, particularly the number of nonviolent criminals, partly by using new guidelines for early release. Likewise, many states are scrambling to find programs to sharply cut the number of repeat offenders. Inmates nevertheless face formidable hurdles in securing employment following release back into society. Often lacking skills to find a job, they typically receive little help, increasing the odds, especially in a still-weak economy, that they will come up empty-and revert to a life of crime and return, eventually, to prison. By linking enhanced training to a targeted group of ex-offenders, this study points toward a breakthrough in reducing not only the rate of recidivism but also the cost to society. The program used by America Works, which has offices in New York and six other states and the District of Columbia, costs about $5,000 for each former inmate. While the benefits to society from averted crimes are very hard to calculate in dollar terms, the study estimated average savings of about $231,000 for each nonviolent ex-offender who received extra help, based on the lower crime record posted by the group as a whole, following training. This figure represents a 46-fold return on the cost of the training, not counting impossible-to-quantify benefits to individuals involved, their families, and communities. The intervention of enhanced services was conducted from June 2009 to December 2010, with a randomized trial involving 259 ex-offenders in New York. Participants, all men, had been released from a prison, jail, or youth correctional facility within six months of acceptance into the program. Approximately half of the participants received enhanced employment services from America Works while the other half received typical services, also provided by America Works. Criminal recidivism for 219 ex-offenders was measured from administrative records in July 2012, tracking arrests and convictions of participants in six-month intervals from the point they joined the study for up to 36 months. Enhanced services had no significant impact on recidivism for the group as a whole. Yet that result masked significant differences among varied segments that formed the group. As previously noted, former inmates with histories of violence were little affected by the extra help while those with nonviolent histories benefited substantially. Even within the latter group, however, significant differences appeared, offering additional clues about where to focus job-training dollars. Further exploration revealed that enhanced services had the largest impact among nonviolent criminals with the fewest prior charges. Differences were also found among the three subsets of nonviolent offenders: those who had committed offenses involving property, those who had committed crimes involving the sale or possession of drugs, and those who had been involved in minor offenses. Ex-offenders with property crimes and those with minor offenses were found to be most responsible for positive recidivism results. The subset with a history of drug crimes appeared to have no significant impact on recidivism results. Given the small samples, however, caution must be used when interpreting such results. Collectively, these results suggest that enhanced job-search assistance is most effective for the easiest of the hard-to-serve population - and that focusing future efforts on this group is the most cost-effective approach. Details: New York: Center for State and Local Leadership, Manhattan Institute, 2015. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 11, 2015 at: http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/prison-work-5876.html Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/prison-work-5876.html Shelf Number: 137230 Keywords: Ex-Offender EmploymentJobsPrisoner ReentryVocational Education and Training |
Author: Broadus, Joseph Title: A Successful Prisoner Reentry Program Expands: Lessons from the Replication of the Center for Employment Opportunities Summary: This report presents results from a fidelity assessment and implementation analysis of five Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) replication programs in New York, California, and Oklahoma. Between 2004 and 2010, MDRC conducted a rigorous random assignment evaluation of the original CEO program as part of the Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ Demonstration and Evaluation funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The evaluation found that CEO was effective at reducing recidivism rates - the rates at which participants committed new crimes or were reincarcerated - among important subgroups of its participant population. Based in part on these findings, the CEO program was selected by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation in 2011 to be part of its Social Innovation Fund and receive funding and technical assistance to expand and replicate the model in various locations across the United States. Based in New York City, CEO is one of the nation's largest transitional jobs programs for former prisoners. The program offers participants temporary, paid jobs, along with employment counseling and other services, all aimed at making them more employable and preventing their return to prison. The current study describes how the model was replicated in other locations, assesses its implementation in various contexts, and reports on findings from a qualitative study of participants' perceptions of and experiences in the CEO program. The findings presented in this report focus on the implementation of CEO's core elements at the replication sites and provide a description of participants' experience with the program. One additional goal of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of which aspects of the CEO model may have contributed to the reductions in recidivism found in the initial evaluation of the New York City program. This report's findings include the following: - Overall, the replication programs operated with high fidelity to the original program model. - Participants in replication programs engaged in CEO activities at similar rates as did participants in New York City, although replication programs did a better job of moving participants through the model's early stages and into working with the staff to obtain unsubsidized employment. - Participants said that the program's most essential and distinctive elements were its structure and the support of its staff members. - While CEO work crews offered some opportunities for skills training, they functioned primarily as jobs, with the habits and competencies that make for a good employee emphasized through the routine of reporting for work each day, cooperating with colleagues, and following supervisors' directions. Details: New York: MDRC, 2016. 114p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 22, 2016 at: http://mdrc.org/sites/default/files/CEO-PrisonerReentryReport.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://mdrc.org/sites/default/files/CEO-PrisonerReentryReport.pdf Shelf Number: 137586 Keywords: Employment ProgramsEx-offender EmploymentJobsPrisoner ReentryRecidivism |
Author: Fredericksen, Allyson Title: Jobs after Jail: Ending the prison to poverty pipeline Summary: Each year an average of 630,000 people are released from state and federal prisons - for many, their prison record will be a life sentence of poverty and low wages. In addition to facing "the box" on job applications that asks about being convicted of a crime, they also face a raft of state restrictions banning them from certain occupations. Every state in the country bans formerly incarcerated people from specific jobs. Some states bar them from hundreds of jobs, often good-paying jobs. Today, the Alliance for a Just Society is releasing Jobs After Jail: Ending the Prison to Poverty Pipeline. The report analyzes the impact of policies that limit employment opportunities for people who have served jail or prison sentences. The findings underscore the urgency to "ban the box" in every state and at the federal level. However, the Jobs After Jail research also clearly shows the critical need to change the thousands of laws nationwide that restrict job opportunities, and keep families and communities struggling. A wide variety of jobs are barred, but depending on the state, they can include such work as a veterinarian, mortgage broker, or optometrist About 70 million people in the U.S have a felony or serious misdemeanor arrest or conviction that could impact their ability to find a job, locking a big part of our country out of stable, good-paying employment. Jobs After Jail includes first-person stories from formerly incarcerated people about the hurdles of finding a job, getting to work with restrictions on driving, checking "the box" on a college application, and juggling two or three low wage jobs to make ends meet. According to Jobs After Jail, nationwide there are more than 6,000 mandatory employment restrictions facing people who have served their sentence. "Our research shows that every state has jobs that formerly incarcerated people are banned from holding," said Allyson Fredericksen, the Alliance's policy analyst and author of the report. "Some states have more than 200 restricted jobs - and Louisiana has 389 restrictions. The result is a vast number of people who are sentenced to poverty." Recommendations from the report include: - Eliminate lifetime legislative bans to employment - Ban the box - the question about convictions on job applications. - Reform policies on court fines and fees and incarceration fees that leave people deep in debt after they are released. - Invest in businesses that pay high wages and employ formerly incarcerated people. Details: Seattle: Alliance for a Just Society, 2016. 42p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 9, 2016 at: http://allianceforajustsociety.org/publications/publications-by-date/ Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://allianceforajustsociety.org/publications/publications-by-date/ Shelf Number: 138154 Keywords: Ex-offender EmploymentJobsPoverty |
Author: Long, Iain W. Title: Unemployment, Crime and Social Insurance Summary: We study an individual's incentive to search for a job in the presence of random criminal opportunities. These opportunities extenuate moral hazard, as the individual sometimes commits crime rather than searching. Even when he searches, he applies less effort. We then revisit the design of optimal unemployment insurance in this environment. If the individual is more likely to remain unemployed and unpunished when he commits crime than when he searches for a job (as suggested by empirical studies), declining unemployment benefits reduce the payoff from crime relative to that from searching. Compared to the canonical models of optimal unemployment insurance, this provides a further incentive to reduce benefits over time. Details: Cardiff: Cardiff Business School, 2014. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Cardiff Economics Working Papers, Working paper No. E2014/9: Accessed March 30, 2016 at: http://business.cardiff.ac.uk/sites/default/files/working-papers/e2014_9.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://business.cardiff.ac.uk/sites/default/files/working-papers/e2014_9.pdf Shelf Number: 138489 Keywords: JobsUnemployment |
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: 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: Skemer, Melanie Title: Reengaging New York City's Disconnected Youth Through Work: Implementation and Early Impacts of the Young Adult Internship Program Summary: For many young people, the time between one's late teenage years and early twenties encompasses several important milestones, including graduating from high school, attending college, entering the workforce, and beginning to establish economic independence. However, 12.3 percent of young people in the United States between the ages of 16 and 24 - 4.9 million young people in total - are neither in school nor working. These "disconnected" or "opportunity" youth face serious challenges to achieving success in the labor market and self-sufficiency in adulthood. The Young Adult Internship Program (YAIP) is intended to help reengage young people who have fallen off track, thereby reducing their risk of long-term economic hardship. The New York City Center for Economic Opportunity and the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development oversee the program and community-based provider organizations throughout the city deliver it. YAIP offers young people a 10- to 12-week paid internship, along with various other services, including job-readiness workshops and activities; individual support, counseling, and assessments; case management; and follow-up services. MDRC is conducting a random assignment evaluation of YAIP to determine whether the program makes a difference in the lives of the young people it serves. The study is part of the larger Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration, sponsored by the Administration of Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. From July 2013 to March 2014, nearly 2,700 young people were assigned, at random, to either a program group, which was offered YAIP services, or to a control group, which was not offered those services. The study will measure outcomes for both groups over time to assess whether YAIP services led to better outcomes for the program group compared with the control group. This is the first major report in the YAIP evaluation. It provides a detailed description of the YAIP model, assesses its implementation, and examines whether the program improved key outcomes during the first year after young people were enrolled in the study. Main findings include: Overall, YAIP was well-implemented. The program was delivered very similarly across providers with a high degree of fidelity to the program model as designed. Participation rates were high: over three-fourths of young people assigned to the program group worked in a subsidized internship and 86 percent of those young people completed the internship. Program group members were more likely than control group members to report receiving employment services, as well as advice or support and mentorship from staff members at an agency or organization. However, substantial numbers of control group members also reported receiving help in these areas. Program group members were more likely than the control group members to work in the year following random assignment, but the quarterly employment rates of the two groups converged after the YAIP internships ended. The program group also had higher earnings than the control group; while largest during the time when program group members were working in paid internships, impacts on earnings persisted throughout the follow-up period, suggesting that program group members may have obtained better jobs compared with their control group counterparts. Details: New York: Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2017. 140p. Source: Internet Resource: OPRE Report 2017-22; Accessed May 4, 2017 at: http://www.mdrc.org/sites/default/files/STED_YAIP_Final_FR-Web.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: http://www.mdrc.org/sites/default/files/STED_YAIP_Final_FR-Web.pdf Shelf Number: 145300 Keywords: At-Risk YouthDisconnected YouthEmployment ProgramsJobs |
Author: Trone Private Sector and Education Advisory Council Title: Back to Business: How Hiring Formerly Incarcerated Job Seekers Benefits Your Company Summary: Tis report details the ways companies can combat the ills of decades of mass incarceration, while at the same tapping into the potential energy of a workforce of millions. Today, 70 million Americans - one in three adults - have a criminal record. These are people who have or will reenter their communities and need gainful employment to build stability and find success after incarceration. The report lays out how by reducing barriers to employment and implementing fair hiring practices, companies can better provide employment opportunities to formerly incarcerated people to the benefit of all. When companies break down these barriers to employment and provide second chances, they can have a positive impact on the lives of individuals, the trajectory of families, on the health of their businesses, and on the growth of the American economy. The bottom line: doing good is good for business. Details: New York: ACLU, 2017. 33p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 27, 2017 at: https://www.aclu.org/report/back-business-how-hiring-formerly-incarcerated-job-seekers-benefits-your-company Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://www.aclu.org/report/back-business-how-hiring-formerly-incarcerated-job-seekers-benefits-your-company Shelf Number: 146521 Keywords: Ex-Offender Employment Jobs |
Author: Salemson, Daniel J. Title: Getting the Rap Down: Employment Strategies for New Yorkers with Criminal Records Summary: Assisting job seekers who have criminal records - and the employers that may hire them - represents one of the most persistently vexing challenges for workforce development organizations. In the years that Workforce Professionals Training Institute (WPTI) has provided direct training and technical assistance to practitioners and organizations in this area of work, we have learned much about effective strategies and practices, many of which we share in this report. Details: New York: Workplace Professionals Training Institute, 2016. 60p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 4, 2017 at: https://workforceprofessionals.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Getting_the_RAP_Down.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://workforceprofessionals.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Getting_the_RAP_Down.pdf Shelf Number: 146707 Keywords: Criminal Records Employment Ex-Offender Employment Jobs |
Author: Henderson, Kathryn Title: Assessment of the Employment Works Program Summary: Employment Works was launched in 2008 as a pilot initiative to help probationers secure employment, with the goal or promoting their self-sufficiency and reducing their rates of recidivism. The program promotes collaboration between two City agencies by coordinating workforce services between NYC's Department of Small Business Services (SBS) and the Department of Probation (DOP). The program's target was to place probationers in stable employment in jobs paying at least $9/hour. CEO asked Westat to evaluate the program's effect on both employment and recidivism. The evaluation initially had two key components - first assessing the effect of the program on the participants and differences between providers, and secondly comparing recidivism rates for the Employment Works (EW) participants versus the probation population that did not get referred to the program. The participant and provider analysis showed strong positive findings. Approximately 30 percent of those served were placed into employment, a rate significantly higher than the 20 percent placement rate for the general population at the standard Workforce Career Centers. Additionally, placement rates and wages at the Employment Works sites were better for those entering in 2009 than in 2008 despite the economic downturn that hit at that time, suggesting that providers became increasingly effective in their work. Reinforcing the value of occupational training in building the human capital of job seekers, the analysis found that participants who receive individual training grants (ITGs) have a greater likelihood of finding jobs than those that did not. The analysis also showed that the performance of the two providers was nearly the same once the evaluators statistically adjusted for the population differences- a factor important for program managers that oversee multiple sites to keep in mind as they monitor program outcomes. For an employment program, this assessment reminds us that differences between sites in education levels of the population, work history, criminal history, gender, and other factors that are closely correlated with wages need to be factored into any performance management oversight. The evaluation found a strong correlation between employment and reduced recidivism. Participants who were placed in jobs by Employment Works had much lower odds of being re-arrested compared to participants who did not get placed, suggesting a possible benefit of employment on reducing recidivism. The second component of the research design was to compare Employment Works participants to a matched group of Department of Probation clients that were not served by the program, using existing administrative data. Westat was unable to complete the impact analysis because of DOP data limitations- in particular key variables such as education and employment history were missing. Details: Rockville, MD: Westat, 2013. 47p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 4, 2017 at: http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/opportunity/pdf/employment_works_evaluation_110713.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/opportunity/pdf/employment_works_evaluation_110713.pdf Shelf Number: 146725 Keywords: Employment Ex-Offender Employment JobsProbationers Recidivism |
Author: Australia. Department of Employment Title: Prison to Work - Employment Service Offer, 2018-2021 Summary: This consultation paper outlines initiatives to assist Indigenous prisoners to access the support they need on their release. The Prison to Work - Employment Service Offer is a new program announced in the 2017‑18 Federal Budget, as part of the Closing the Gap - Employment Services package, to support progress on achieving parity in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. The program will be implemented progressively from January 2018, subject to negotiations with the states and territories. Specialist organisations, which have experience with Indigenous Australians and the criminal justice system, will be engaged to provide services that are designed to assist Indigenous prisoners access the support they need on their release, better prepare them to find employment and reintegrate into the community. Details: Canberra: Department of Employment, 2017. 220., 6p. Source: Internet Resource: Consultation Paper: Accessed August 23, 2017 at: http://apo.org.au/node/102166 Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: http://apo.org.au/node/102166 Shelf Number: 146872 Keywords: Ex-Offender Employment Indigenous Offenders Indigenous People Jobs |
Author: Johnson, Byron R. Title: Recidivism Reduction and Return on Investment: An Empirical Assessment of the Prison Entrepreneurship Program Summary: In order to be effective, America's response to crime needs to be constantly reevaluated. New policing methods and technologies continue to emerge as options to address changes in patterns of crime, delinquency, gang violence, drug use, and more. The same can be said for our courts and correctional systems. Taxpayers, scholars, and policy makers alike have a serious interest in determining what works and what does not when it comes to crime reduction, the effectiveness of new sentencing guidelines, or the impact of new programs designed to rehabilitate prisoners. Since the current study deals with prisoners and ex-prisoners, our brief discussion of the traditional response to crime will have a specific focus on how correctional authorities have attempted to address problems linked to prisoner rehabilitation, prisoner reentry, and recidivism. First and foremost, prisons are built and run to keep prisoners incarcerated and thereby insure public safety. Most wardens are not opposed to the rehabilitation of prisoners. That said, most wardens understand that, while prisoners have problems needing attention, regrettably, wardens have limited resources and rarely, if at all, have the ability to implement wide-ranging treatment programs. Thus, decision-makers and correctional administrators always tend to put issues related to safety and security ahead of factors related to the treatment and rehabilitation of prisoners. Unfortunately, a lack of emphasis on how to address core problems through innovative programs has had the inadvertent effect of stymieing correctional practices and thus has allowed the emphasis to remain on developing better and more effective techniques for safely incarcerating more and more offenders. While correctional budgets have soared over the last three decades, governmental support available to confront issues like the prisoner reentry crisis has not kept pace. Details: Waco, TX: Baylor Institute for the Study of Religion, Baylor University, 2015. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 10, 2017 at: http://www.baylorisr.org/wp-content/uploads/PEP_final_reduced-size.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.baylorisr.org/wp-content/uploads/PEP_final_reduced-size.pdf Shelf Number: 147637 Keywords: Employment Ex-Offender Employment Jobs Prisoner Reentry Prisoner Rehabilitation Treatment Programs |
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: Bauer, Erin L. Title: Evaluation of the New York City Justice Corps: Final Outcome Report Summary: In 2008, New York City launched an ambitious community-based program that was intended to not only improve outcomes for young adults with justice involvement, but also to benefit their communities. The New York City Justice Corps (NYCJC) offered a 6-month program of employment-related services in two communities. The program succeeded in recruiting participants who were appropriate for the Justice Corps, but the program experienced challenges in retaining the participants. Although the Justice Corps fell short on achieving desired educational outcomes, the program improved employment-related outcomes for program participants; however, the program had no effect on criminal justice outcomes. The communities in which the participants were located appeared to have appreciated and benefited from the program; also, the participants expressed satisfaction with the program and appeared to have benefited substantially from their program participation. Although the Justice Corps successfully expanded the capacity of one of the local social service agencies to serve justice involved young adults, the other agency decided to discontinue its services focused exclusively on this population. Details: Rockville, MD: Westat, 2014. 179p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 7, 2018 at: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/opportunity/pdf/Westat-Justice-Corps-Evaulation.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/opportunity/pdf/Westat-Justice-Corps-Evaulation.pdf Shelf Number: 153349 Keywords: Community-Based Programs Employment Programs Ex-Offender Employment JobsPrisoner Reentry Young Adult Offenders |