Understanding the Effects of Probation Stipulations on Employment Outcomes to Shape Policy in the Post-Pandemic America

Background and Purpose

The vast majority of the 2 million people incarcerated in the United States will be released to some form of community supervision, typically probation. The will join an estimated 5 million Americans who are already on probation. Empirical evidence suggests that steady employment is a key component to reducing the likelihood that the individuals on probation return to prison. Largely unexplored, however, is the impact that the constellation of probation stipulations to which people are mandated upon their release from prison (such as visits with a probation office, court appearances, or drug and mental health treatment) impact employment outcomes and self-perceptions of employability. The purpose of this talk is to share with attendees the results of a study that explored the relationship between probation stipulations and employment outcomes. It is the goal of the presenter that this information will help inform conversations related to probation policy reform in post-pandemic America.

Methods

A cross-sectional quantitative methodology was utilized to collect survey data from people on probation (n=170) during the summer of 2017. Pearson’s correlations were conducted to identify significant correlations. Linear regressions were then conducted to further assess the relationships between independent and dependent variables.

Results

There were five key results of the research:

• There is a negative relationship between the number of probation stipulations a person on probation must attend and their employment outcomes.
• There is a negative relationship between the number of probation stipulations a person on probation must attend and their self-perceptions of employability, which is a key component to getting and finding a job.
• There is a positive relationship between support from the probation officer and job offers among unemployed people on probation.
• There is a positive relationship between support from the probation officer and self-perceptions of employability
• The self-perceptions of employability scale utilized in this survey produced a Cronbach’s alpha of .858, suggesting excellent internal consistency

Conclusions and Implications

There are important limitations that present themselves in this study. First, the effect sizes, though significant, are not substantive. A second limitation is the subjective nature of measuring both employment quality and self-perceptions of employability. Despite these limitations however, there are important findings that can greatly inform discussions of probation policy reform as America shifts to a post-pandemic reality. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the probation system in America has gone from a system that relied on constant face-to-face, time consuming meetings to one that is able to meet with people via Zoom. The findings in this study highlight the importance of considering how restrictive our probation policies shall be. The findings of this study also inform caseworkers of the importance of understanding the constellation of stipulations to which people on probation are mandated as well how to navigate that constellation.