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Christy Visher, Sara Debus-Sherrill, Jennifer Yahner
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Employment after Prison: A Longitudinal Study of Releasees in Three States URBAN INSTITUTE Justice Policy Center Research Brief October 2008Christy Visher Sara Debus Jennifer Yahner KEY FINDINGS Eight months after prison, 65 percent of respondents had been employed at some point, but only 45 percent were currently employed. Most respondents relied on family and friends for income after release, more so than legal employment. Respondents who held a job while in prison and those who participated in job-training programs while incarcerated had better employment outcomes after release. Once in the community, 48 percent of respondents wanted but were unable to participate in programs to improve their work skills, most commonly because they were unaware of program availability. Most respondents who found work did so by speaking with friends and family; however, the most successful strategy for long-term employment was returning to a previous employer. Respondents who were employed and earning higher wages after release were less likely to return to prison the first year out. This study was funded by the generous support of the JEHT Foundation. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Urban Institute, its board, or its sponsors. To learn more about Returning Home and prisoner reentry, please visit our web site: www.urban.org/justice . Most individuals released from prison held some type of job prior to incarceration and want lega l, stable employment upon release. Some criminal justice research suggests that finding and maintaining a legitimate job can reduce former prisoners™ chances of reoffending, and the higher the wage, the less likely it is that individuals will return to crime. However, most former prisoners experience difficulty finding a job after release. During the time spent in prison, many lose work skills and are given little opportunity to gain useful work experience. Moreover, the availability of job- training programs in prison ha s declined in recent years. A large proportion of former prison ers have low levels of educational attainment and work experience, he alth problems, and other personal characteristics that make them hard to employ. For example, 40 percent of state and federal prisoners have neither a high school diploma nor GED, nearly a third have a physical impairment or ment al condition, and over half reportedly used drugs in the month before their arrest (Petersilia 2005). Once in the community, not only are many employers reluctant to hire convicted felons, but many former prisoners are legally barred from certain occupations. In this brief, we explore the reality of finding employment after release from prison from the perspective of 740 former male prison ers in Illinoi s, Ohio, and Texas.1 Interviews were conducted as part of a comprehensive, longitudinal study of prisoner reentry entitled Returning Home: Understanding the Challenges of Prisoner Reentry , which examined factors that contribute to successful or unsuccessful reintegration into the co mmunity. We focus on addressing the following key questions: What are the employment experiences of those being released from prison and returning home? What factors influence whether former prison ers find work in the year after release ? Notably, our findings may reflect correct ional practices at the time of data collection (study samples were recruited from 2002 to 2003 in Illinois and 2004 to 2005 in Ohio and Texas), but do not necessarily reflect those currently in place. DESCRIPTION OF RETURNING HOME RESPONDENTS The sample of 740 men was ethnically and racially diverse (74 percent African American, 16 percent Europe an American, and 9 percen t Hispanic). Almost all (99 percent) were United States citi zens, and 43 percent had voted in an election (table 1). The median age wa s 35 years. Before entering prison, a quarter were married and over half (56 percent) had children under 18. About half had at least a high school educatio n prior to prison. About three in five respondents reported using illegal drugs more than once a week in the six months leading up to their imprisonme nt, with marijuana and cocaine each accounting for about a third of reported drug use. This number increased to about two in three respondent s when alcohol intoxication 2 was also considered.
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