Bridging Disciplinary Boundaries (January 11 - 14, 2007)

Transitional Employment: A Promising Model for Facilitating Employment among Individuals with Criminal Records

PURPOSE

Transitional Employment (TE) is an intervention model to facilitate entry into the workforce by individuals with barriers to employment. TE programs develop short-term jobs (3-6 months) and provide job-readiness assistance, on-the job training, case management, and support services such as housing assistance and substance abuse treatment. After this transitional period participants are assisted in securing jobs in the general labor market. This paper presents findings from an evaluation of “The New Start Employment Project,” for individuals on parole or probation in Detroit, Michigan. The primary goal of the study was to measure program performance related to job readiness, employment, and criminal recidivism and to explore the implementation challenges of providing TE services to this population.

METHOD

Study participants included 123 individuals entering New Start between January 1, 2004 and June 30, 2005. Demographic data were provided by the agency. Job readiness was assessed upon entry into and exit from the program, and employment outcomes were collected from participants quarterly for up to 12-months after exiting the program. Post-exit interviews also gathered data on the challenges that participants faced in completing the TE program, obtaining and maintaining employment, and on how well the program's services helped them overcome barriers to employment. Recidivism data were collected from the Michigan Department of Corrections. Evaluators also conducted on-site observation of job readiness classes and interviewed agency staff regarding program implementation.

RESULTS

Sixty-three percent of all reporting participants secured employment after exiting the program with an average hourly wage of $8.68. Among those who completed the full 12-week transitional period, 67% secured employment during the study period while only 50% of participants who exited before ‘graduating' did so. Eighty-two percent of participants who completed pre and post job readiness assessments showed positive change (avg. = 18%), which was positively correlated with post-exit employment. Twenty-seven percent of all participants recidivated but among those who worked after exiting, the recidivism rate was just 12%. Lack of access to reliable transportation was the major challenge reported by participants (31%), which the program addressed in the short-term by providing public transportation vouchers. New Start participants also reported that program staff played a key role in identifying employers that were willing to hire individuals with criminal records and linking participants with these companies.

IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY & PRACTICE

Parolees and probationers are less likely to return to crime if they are working; however they have a much harder time securing employment than those without criminal records (Needels, 1996; Western, Kling, Weiman, 2001). Many face ‘barriers-to-employment' such as low educational levels, problems with substance abuse, inadequate housing, and unreliable transportation and they often suffer from diminishment in their job skills while incarcerated and have gaps in their work histories. In addition, the criminal record itself often stigmatizes these individuals in the eyes of many potential employers. This study illustrates the promise of the Transitional Employment model for promoting employment, and reducing recidivism, among parolees and probationers.