Restorations Ministries, Inc.
Managing Educational & Training Programs for Returning Citizens
Reentry Issues
A NATIONAL PROBLEM
More than 700,000 people were released from Federal and State incarceration in 2008 and arrived on the doorsteps of communities nationwide. For many offenders and defendants, this may occur multiple times in a year. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), two-thirds of those released from incarceration will be in some form of legal trouble within 3 years for a felony or serious misdemeanor. Expenditures on corrections alone increased 86 percent in twenty-three years, from $9,000,000,000 in 1982, to $65,091,000,000 in 2005. It costs the United States an average of eighty-eight dollars per day, per prisoner.
Fifty-seven percent of Federal and 70 percent of State inmates used drugs regularly before going to prison. The BJS report titled, “Trends in State Parole, 1990-2000”, estimates 84 percent of inmates used drugs or alcohol around the time of the offense that resulted in their incarceration. Further, over one-third of all jail inmates have some physical or mental disability and 25 percent have been treated for a mental or emotional problem. State Substance Abuse Agency Directors, also known as Single State Authorities, manage the publicly funded substance abuse prevention and treatment system of the Nation; and are responsible for planning and implementing statewide systems of care that provide clinically appropriate substance abuse services. Given the high rate of substance use disorders among offenders reentering our communities, successful reentry programs require close interaction and collaboration with each Single State Authority, as the program is planned, implemented, and evaluated.
In his 2004 State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush proposed “a four-year, $300 million prisoner reentry initiative to expand job training and placement services, to provide transitional housing, and to help newly released prisoners get mentoring, including from faith-based groups.” The Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative (PRI) is designed to assist returning ex-offenders by linking them to faith-based and community institutions that help ex-prisoners find work and avoid a relapse into a life of criminal activity.
As of November 9, 2007, 10,361 ex-offenders have been enrolled in faith-based and community-based programs funded by PRI. Of those enrollees, 6,035 participants have been placed into jobs. PRI participants’ one-year post recidivism rate is currently less than half the national average for recidivism. In addition, recently released findings show that Ready4Work participants returned to prison at rates 44 percent lower than the 10.4 percent national rate of re-incarceration after one year of release.
THE CHALLENGES OF PRISON REENTRY
More than 90 percent of the currently 2 million incarcerated will be released someday. According to the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Statistics, two out of the three inmates released will be re-arrested for new crimes within three years of their release from prison, and more than half of those arrested will be re-incarcerated. The major force behind this problem is the myriad of challenges faced by the ex-offenders that foster a return to criminal activity, re-arrest, and re-incarceration. These challenges include, but are not limited to, limited job skills and education, substance abuse, mental health problems, lack of stable housing, and weak family support systems.
Joblessness among ex-offenders has been linked to recidivism rates. Over one-third of serious offenders were unemployed in the six months prior to their arrest. Post-incarceration, employment rates plummet even further. Unemployment rates of ex-offenders are estimated to be between 25 and 40 percent. Prisoners also demonstrate low levels of educational attainment—some 40 percent of adult state prisoners are functionally illiterate and more than half of the state parole entrants have not graduated from high school. Securing employment is difficult enough with a criminal record; for those without adequate education or training, the task is much more difficult.
Conversely, research shows that ex-offenders who find stable employment and develop social bonds have significantly lower recidivism rates. Education and skills enhancement serve as cornerstones for ex-offenders seeking acquisition of adequate paying jobs or those holding low-wage jobs but seeking to advance and grow in their careers. Technical and academic training is crucial. So are other issues that will affect job prospects. Coping with the personal and financial demands of re-entering or staying in the workforce, such as, finding suitable clothing for the workplace, arranging childcare or explaining to a client how to purchase a bus pass, are just a few. Sometimes it even means taking an ex-offender to a transit office to buy a bus pass.
In specific, a 2003 report generated by the Urban Institute considers barriers limiting employment opportunities of ex-offenders—first on the supply side (i.e., their own characteristics and attitudes), and then on the demand side (i.e., those of the employers). From the report, we ascertain what factors producing such barriers can be “manipulated” to produce positive outcomes in employment for ex-offenders.
Various factors limit employment and earnings among ex-offenders. On the supply side of the labor market – through the attitudes, characteristics and behaviors of the individuals, themselves, these factors are, but not limited to,
- Limited education and cognitive skills – About 70 percent of offenders and ex-offenders are high school dropouts (Travis et al., 2001; Freeman, 1992). According to at least one study, about half are “functionally illiterate” (Hirsch et al., 2002). Ten percent of ex-offenders report a learning disability—over three times the proportion reported in the general population.
- Limited work experience – The work experience offenders and ex-offenders accumulated prior to incarceration was generally well below what it might have been in the absence of their participation in crime. Multiple periods of incarceration impede them from gaining any additional private sector experience, and help to erode whatever job skills, positive work habits, or connections to employers they might have had beforehand. Labor economists frequently refer to this as the “depreciation” of human capital that occurs with a spell of employment inactivity. This could occur because particular skills deteriorate when they are not used, and because other factors (such as work habits or references from employers and acquaintances) weaken as well.
- Substance abuse and other physical/mental health problems – Three-fourths of ex-offenders have had substance abuse problems; two-three percent have AIDS or are HIV-positive; eighteen percent have hepatitis C; and fifteen-twenty percent report emotional disorders. Among the small fraction of ex-offenders who are women, large numbers suffer from depression and/or past sexual abuse. All of these factors limit employability because they limit the basic “job-readiness” that employers almost universally seek as a pre-condition for employment.
On the demand-side, there are two kinds of barriers generated by employers; those related to the general personal characteristics of ex-offenders vs. those that are explicitly related to their ex-offender status. For example, poor skills and work experience of most ex-offenders generally conflict with the skills and credentials sought by employers. Fewer than five percent of unskilled jobs require no high school diploma, work experience, or other relevant work. Even where little formal skill is required, employers almost universally seek job readiness.
Providing a supportive environment is paramount to the success of the ex-offender’s reentry. Establishing a system to reduce or eliminate typical barriers to employment is also critical. Components such as employment readiness classes that discuss career planning and job placement, transitional work, and job development, prove effective methods for successful reentry. Closely working in partnership with Parole agents and other community resources help to facilitate an efficient reentry.