REPORT | May 2017

IDENTIFYING EFFECTIVE PRISONER

REENTRY STRATEGIES
Robert Cherry, PhD Mary Gatta, PhD
Brooklyn College CUNY-Stella and
CUNY Graduate Center Charles Guttman Community College
 Identifying Effective Prisoner Reentry Strategies

About the Authors

Robert Cherry, PhD, is professor of economics at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate
Center. He writes on issues related to race and poverty, including his most recent book (with Robert
Lerman), Moving Working Families Forward: Third Way Policies That Can Work (2012) and his articles
Race and Opportunity, National Affairs (Winter 2016); Child Maltreatment and Male Employment
(with Chun Wang), Child and Youth Services Review (2016); and Higher Education and the Racial
Wage Gap, Realclearpolicy.com (Nov. 21, 2016).

Mary Gatta, PhD, is an associate professor of sociology at CUNY-Stella and Charles Guttman
Community College. Prior to CUNY, she served as a senior scholar at Wider Opportunities for
Women in Washington, D.C. She was also director of Gender and Workforce Policy at the Center for
Women and Work at Rutgers University, where she was an assistant professor in the Department
of Labor Studies.

Gatta is the author, most recently, of All I Want Is a Job! Unemployed Women Navigating the
Public Workforce System (2014); and Not Just Getting By: The New Era of Flexible Workforce
Development (2011).

2
 Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................5
Introduction...............................................................................7
Field-Level Studies....................................................................8
Programs That Focus on Employment
and Work Readiness..................................................................9
Programs That Focus on Community Reintegration..................10

Programs That Focus on Obtaining a
High School Diploma ..............................................................11
Conclusion..............................................................................12
Endnotes................................................................................14

3
 Identifying Effective Prisoner Reentry Strategies

Executive Summary

E
very year, state and federal prisons release approximately 650,000 inmates. Within
the first year following their release, more than half of them are unable to find a job
and earn enough legal income to survive. These men and women are overwhelm-
ingly released into high-crime neighborhoods, where they often reestablish relationships
and networks with problematic individuals. The most recent government national survey
estimated that within three years of their release from prison, two-thirds of ex-offenders
are arrested for a new crime.1
This study identifies some promising initiatives, all of them fundedat least, in partby the federal government
under the Second Chance Act (2008), that help integrate former prisoners into society and that possibly con-
tribute to bringing down the rate of recidivism. We examine a variety of reentry programs in New Jersey and
New York City to identify their strengths and weaknesses. We review public and nonprofit programs serving
both youth and young adults, some who have successfully completed high school equivalency (HSE) and others
who have not. In particular, we want to determine which programs may be most effective for the most at-risk
parolees; the relative merits of transitional employment, short-term training, or direct employment; and the
effectiveness of academic tracks at community colleges.

Key Findings:
Transitional employmentusually menial work in public institutions or nonprofit organizations, with no

development of occupational skillsdoes not seem to improve ex-offenders long-term job prospects but
does modestly reduce recidivism. Programs that devote time to occupational training alone show some
modest positive effect on employment but not on reducing recidivism.
Programs that focus on reintegrating ex-prisoners into their communities, combining occupational training,

mentoring, social services, and some education, have shown promising reductions in recidivism among certain
kinds of offenders, particularly those with substance-abuse or mental-health problems, over a sustained period
of time.
Reintegration initiatives that offer high school equivalency education (during or immediately after incarceration)

can be effective for increasing employment and reducing recidivismbut for offenders who have had difficulty
in academic/classroom settings, programs that offer certification of skills in specific kinds of jobs may be the
best choice.
Based on a survey of the research literature and our own field investigation, there is no one size fits all approach

to improving the job prospects and reducing the arrest rates of ex-offenders.

5
 Identifying Effective Prisoner Reentry Strategies

6
IDENTIFYING EFFECTIVE PRISONER
REENTRY STRATEGIES
Introduction

R
esearch by the Pew Center on the States has estimated that there would
be significant savings for government and taxpayers if efforts to reduce
recidivism succeed. For example, if California, New York, and Texas
each cut their recidivism rates by 10%, they would save $233 million, $42
million, and $33.6 million, respectively.2 Lower recidivism also implies fewer
crime victims and fewer destabilized families.
The Second Chance Act, enacted in 2008, provided for grants for state and local government
reentry programs, to reduce recidivism, provide reentry services, conduct research, and evaluate
the impact of reentry programs. We identify three distinctive reentry approaches that have been
implemented and evaluated, with varying results.

One set of funded programs adopts a work-first approach similar to President Clintons 1996
welfare reform: focus on work readiness rather than enhancing the occupational skills of ex-of-
fenders. This approach often begins with transitional jobsprimarily menial work at public in-
stitutions that provide stipendsthat are a stepping-stone to private-sector employment. Unlike
internships, which provide individuals with the occupational skills necessary for permanent
employment, transitional jobs are overwhelmingly menial. A 2010 Joyce Foundation analysis
of transitional jobs reentry programs in Chicago, St. Paul, Milwaukee, and Detroit found that
ex-offenders reported that the transitional jobs provided them with much-needed income during
a chaotic reentry process.3

The nonprofit Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) has been a leader in this approach.
The results of its program, according to studies, have been mixed. Compared with a control group,
CEO clients were no more likely to be employed two years after the first intervention. However,
after two years, its clients had a modestly lower recidivism rate: 49.5%, compared with 55.3% for
the control group.4

An evaluation of America Works work-readiness programs in New York City found that while
overall, there was no significant improvement in long-term private-sector employment, those
who had been convicted of relatively minor non-drug-related offenses seemed to benefit substan-
tially from these programs, as did those in a related Newark, New Jersey, program.5

A second set of funded programs spends substantial time on developing job readiness and oc-
cupational vocational training. The effectiveness of these Reintegration of Ex-Offenders (RExO)
programs has also been uneven. According to one study,6 they did have a small but significantly
positive impact on employment and earnings over a two-year period, compared with a control
group. However, they had no impact on recidivism rates, which were 43% for both groups.

A third approach seeks integration into the community rather than employment as the main
goal. The Boston Reentry Initiative was designed to help move violent adult offenders released
7
 Identifying Effective Prisoner Reentry Strategies

from jail back to their neighborhoods. Through several also explored some work-readiness programs that
agencies, the initiative uses mentoring, social-ser- were supported by the NYC Department of Probation.
vices assistance, vocational training, and education to
help offenders reintegrate into society. A 2009 study The New Jersey prison system does not provide an
showed that high-risk offenders who participated in opportunity for inmates to prepare effectively for the
this program had a 30% lower arrest rate, compared HSE, so those released were all placed in work-readi-
with a control group.7 ness programs that provide some short-term job train-
ing. With the cooperation of Frank Mazza (director of
The different approaches to prisoner reentry pro- the Hudson County Department of Corrections Com-
gramsemployment/work-readiness focus, occupa- munity Reintegration Program) and James McGreevey
tional-skills focus, or integration focusare worthy of (executive director of the Jersey City Employment and
further analysis. So, too, is the question of how the high Training Program), Mary Gatta conducted a series of
school diploma programs fit into the overall attempts interviews and focus groups with the leadership and
to reduce recidivism. staff of the Jersey City and Hudson County programs,
along with interviews with formerly incarcerated
A 2014 Rand report noted that 37% of state prisoners clients. In addition, we reviewed data collected by the
had less than a high school education in 2004, com- New Jersey Reentry Corporation.
pared with 19% of the general U.S. population aged
16 and older; 16.5% of state prisoners had just a high There were significant differences among the New
school diploma, compared with 26% of the general York City programs that we investigated, particularly
population; and 14.4% of state prison inmates had at in terms of those that provided significant transitional
least some postsecondary education, compared with employment and those that provided immediate access
51% of the general U.S. adult population. Rand con- to unsubsidized private-sector employment. Further
ducted a meta-analysis of studies that have evaluat- research could thus illuminate the relative value of
ed correctional education programs. It found that, on transitional employment. In addition, there were
average, inmates who had participated in correctional sharp differences between the New York City and New
education programs were 43% less likely to be rearrest- Jersey programs that we investigated. The New Jersey
ed than inmates who had not participated. Rand re- programs targeted the most at-risk individuals: those
searchers concluded that correctional education is an who had been jailed several times and who had sub-
effective strategy for reducing recidivism and increas- stance-abuse problems. The New York City programs
ing employment. Thus, we include high school diploma were not targeted, nor did they provide anywhere near
programs in our study.8 the same level of services.

Unlike New Jerseys system, the New York prison

system strongly encourages inmates to study for the
Field-Level Studies HSE, so that many successfully completed the exam
in prison or through prep programs soon after their
Our research included interviews of former prisoners release. The literature suggests that they should have
and staff from various reentry programs. The goal was superior outcomes to those without an HSE. Ideally,
to understandthe various opportunities and experi- we could have looked at programs with some train-
ences that can lead the former inmates to secure jobs. ing component and compared the outcomes of these
In New York City, Robert Cherry spoke with adminis- two groups. We would expect to see that those with
trators involved with reentry programs in the Bronx. the HSE are enrolled in more demanding training
While some of these reentry programs have a mix of programs and have more successful employment out-
clients, most focus on those who have earned a high comes than those without an HSE. Unfortunately, this
school equivalency (HSE diploma) and those who comparison is not possible. In New York City, none of
have not.9 To judge the outcomes for those with an those who successfully complete their HSE are direct-
HSE, Cherry spoke with directors at the Bronx Com- ed to job-training programs. Instead, virtually all are
munity College, Hostos Community College in the provided with supports that enable them to enroll in
Bronx, and the education director at the NYC Depart- community colleges with the expectation that, if they
ment of Probation. successfully complete a two-year associates degree
program, they will transfer to a four-year college. As
Three employment-oriented Bronx programs focused a result, we were precluded from assessing the impact
on ex-offenders without an HSEthe Osborne Asso- that the HSE had on short-term (or medium-term)
ciation, Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), employment or earnings outcomes. We can, however,
and Fedcap Rehabilitation Services (Fedcap). Cherry make some judgment on the New York City strategy to
8
direct all those who attain an HSE to the community a week, a program, etc. These incentives build the cli-
colleges. ents capacity to succeed.

There are more generous stipends for a limited number

who complete a four-week internship. Embedded
Programs That Focus on within Osbornes program are a few certification possi-
Employment and Work bilities: a 10-hour OSHA construction safety program,
an online food handlers certification, and a two-day
Readiness residential construction program. Osbornes future
plans include moving clients into the hospitality indus-
try. The completion rate for the eight-week work-read-
Fedcap iness program is 80%.
In New York City, we investigated three large em-
ployment-oriented/work-readiness reentry programs. Paid employment is the goal, but the desire is for clients
Fedcap, which is funded by the Small Business Ad- to develop a career and earn a livable wage. Within
ministration, takes a traditional work-first approach: three months of their participation in an Osborne
rather than providing support services and work-read- work-readiness program, 40%50% of former prison-
iness training, it quickly places the previously incarcer- ers are placed in paid employment, primarily in main-
ated into paid employment. Fedcap relies on referrals tenance, food-sector, and janitorial services. Osborne
from community-based organizations. There are no tries to keep engaged those who dont quickly gain
clinicians or social workers; those who want educa- employment, and some of them eventually land a job
tional services must go elsewhere. through their own or Osbornes networks.

After taking a basic skills test, Fedcap quickly brings Cherry interviewed one initially unsuccessful Osborne
clients to a business developer, who lines up job possi- client. By the time Anthony (not his real name) was 13
bilities in the private sector. Clients work one-on-one years old, he was selling drugs. Eventually, he was in-
with the developer, who focuses on what the job is and carcerated. Upon release in 2015, he entered Osborne
what they have to do to succeed. Fedcap requires that but was unwilling to leave the street life. Anthony was
the jobs filled by its clients must pay at least $10 per arrested again but began to change his life around
hour and provide employment for at least 30 hours per once he was placed in a program for drug dependency.
week. The jobs are overwhelmingly in cleaning, food Throughout, Osborne kept in touch with Anthony, and
service, and retaillow-wage and entry-level employ- once he was free from drug dependency, it was able
ment that does not often offer routes to economic secu- to move his life forward. Through Osbornes efforts,
rity. Counseling services and case managers do support Anthony enrolled in a six-month training program at
job retention, though more often it is the client, not the the Refrigeration Institute. When he graduates, he will
company, who follows up with Fedcaps retention de- receive an H-VAC technician certification, enabling
partment. We were told by Fedcap that clients current- him to earn $20$30 per hour. He anticipates obtain-
ly have a six-month job-retention rate of about 50%, a ing his HSE so that he can enroll in a three-month cer-
bit higher than in the past. tification program to become a refrigeration engineer,
earning even more.
Osborne Association
The Osborne Association, in New York City, has a staff Another ex-offender, Assante (not his real name), had
of 100 with nearly 200 full-time employees involved in also sold drugs. When he came to Osborne in 2015, he
prisoner reentry programs. It has strong partnerships wanted to succeed; he gained a paid internship with
with employers and works with tenant associations Pathways to Success, run by the Building Performance
and law enforcement. Parole and probation officers Institute. Assante gained basic plumbing and electri-
call to follow up with clients and work with landlords. cal skills, leading to his employment as a maintenance
Osborne not only tries to increase employment but also worker.
provides mentoring and fatherhood programs to help
former prisoners negotiate many of the personal and Center for Employment Opportunities
social hurdles they face. CEO evaluates ex-offenders for five days, and then,
for most of them, it provides 75 days of transitional
For those without an HSE diploma, Osborne provides fully subsidized employmentprimarily menial jobs
an eight-week work-readiness program. Cash subsidies at public institutions that provide stipendsbefore at-
to clients are built in to short-term training programs. tempting to place them in unsubsidized private-sector
Stipends are given at benchmark intervals: completing employment.
9
 Identifying Effective Prisoner Reentry Strategies

A 2012 MDRC study found that one year after tran- services. One example: a pre-apprentice carpentry
sitional employment, the employment rate for CEO program run in conjunction with CEO that works with
participants was about 30%, the same as the control five groups (of 20 former inmates) annually. Some
group.10 CEO seems to have improved its retention clients who successfully complete the program have
rates in the last few years. Among those who gained em- gained acceptance into union-administered appren-
ployment, CEO reported that 61% achieved a 180-day ticeship programs. For others, CEO gains information
job-retention milestone and 51% a one-year milestone. from industry to help with job placement.
CEO national director Will Heaton indicated that, in
addition to the transitional employment, his organiza- CEO also funds comprehensive, 80-hour OSHA con-
tion is beginning to institute short-term certification struction safety training at Hostos, including student
programs similar to those offered by Osborne. One stipends. Hostos has other contracts to provide more
CEO client who has been successfully employed for limited OSHA training at the Rikers Island jail complex
more than a year told Cherry, My friends have been and the prison barge at Hunts Point. CUNY also funds
going to Borough of Manhattan Community College for a pre-construction skills-training program at Rikers.
two or three years and are getting nowhere. While the long-term impact of Rikers training pro-
grams is limited, prison officials encourage them
New York City Department of Probation because they dramatically reduce incidents of violence.
The New York City Department of Probation encour-
ages work-readiness programs for those without an
HSE diploma. Deldreana Peterkin, director of the de-
partments Workforce Development Unit, pointed to Programs That
programs that her office coordinates with Osborne and
Fedcap. She also highlighted programs related to jobs Focus on Community
in food services that are coordinated through her office. Reintegration
Peterkin brought up Drive Change, a private-sector
food-truck company that trains ex-offenders (aged Hudson Countys Community
1825) who first complete Food Protection and Mobile Reintegration Program
Vending Licenses. A smaller group then receives New Jersey has a program that resembles the Boston
stipend for working in food trucks and food prepara- Reentry Initiative focus on integration. Hudson Coun-
tion for eight months. This work experience leads to tys Community Reintegration Program (CRP) op-
four-month internships with private-sector companies erates as a partnership between the Hudson County
and then to jobs in the food industry, with high reten- Department of Corrections and the countys Depart-
tion rates. By contrast, Peterkin pointed to a larger ment of Family Services. It targets chronic offend-
work-readiness program that provided transitional ers. Eligibility requirements include individuals with
employment in food pantries throughout the five bor- a diagnosed mental-health and/or substance-abuse
oughs that has not been successful. Only a few of these disorder who have been arrested, incarcerated, and
clients are actually hired by the organizations where sentenced to the Hudson County Correction Center
they worked. more than once and live in the county. In addition,
the Hudson CRP partners with the Jersey City Em-
The Workforce Development Unit also shapes the pro- ployment and Training program to provide skills-
bation departments educational approach for high based training and employment-placement services.
schoolage parolees. Patrick Van Sluytman, the de- As the program expands beyond Hudson County, the
partments education director, pointed to Coop Tech New Jersey Reentry Corporation (NJRC) has been
(School of Cooperative Technical Education), where incorporated to replicate the Hudson County model
students have their academics in the morning and get in other New Jersey cities, including Jersey City,
vocational skills in the afternoon. Most of the youth at Newark, Paterson, and Toms River.
Coop Tech sent by the probation office are those who
were diverted from prison. Through these partnerships with community-based
providers, Hudson Countys CRP provides outpa-
Hostos Community College tient substance-abuse services, cognitive/behavioral
Through its adult education division, Hostos has nu- day-treatment services, bus passes for treatment and
merous certificate and occupational programs that help job training, medical services, psychotropic medica-
the previously incarcerated in partnership with com- tion, and community-assessment/case-management
munity-based organizations that can provide support services. Hudson County Community College offers

10
vocational training classes. Staff meets with clients with the services available at career centers, including
weekly with an eye toward preparation for post-release career assessment, case management, and job train-
services and transition to the community. The prere- ing. Due to programming constraints, offenders do not
lease-services phase typically averages two months. gain an HSE while incarcerated. While they do have
the option to reenroll in an HSE program, the vast ma-
Ex-offenders can also access one of two therapeutic jority go into job training.
communities (TC) for men and women prerelease.
Integrity House operates the two TCs, each of them From January 2016 to July 2016, the NJRC placed
capable of serving 40 individuals at one time. The 383 clients in general labor jobs, 227 in warehousing/
Integrity House drug-treatment program is certified manufacturing, 101 in food services, 82 in sales, and
by the New Jersey Division of Addiction Services. 43 in transportation. In addition, through a U.S. De-
Once they are released from jail, clients are provided partment of Transportation Ladders of Opportunity
with transitional sober housing and substance-abuse grant, the Jersey City program trained 177 clients for
counseling. In addition, case managers connect them a variety of jobs in NJ Transit, Department of Public
with appropriate services, including Medicaid regis- Works, and for entry into building-trade unions (as la-
tration and linkages to health care through federally borers, carpenters, masons, painters, and pipe fitters).
qualified health-care centers and hospitals; identifi-
cation services through the Motor Vehicle Commis- The Hudson County program boasts a 19% six-month
sion; and legal services and mentoring. Finally, once recidivism rate and a 58% employment-placement
stabilized, clients are directed to the American Job rate. Based on the success of the program, the nonprof-
Center (formerly One Stop Career Center) to develop it NJRC was developed to replicate the model in other
and execute an employment plan, including job train- parts of New Jersey (Newark, Paterson, Toms River,
ing and job search. Atlantic City, and Trenton).

Central to the success of the CRP is treatment for

substance abuse and mental health. As a CRP staff
member explained: Once they have the assessment Programs That
done, clients are placed on a waiting list to go to the
Integrity House here in the jail, which is the substance- Focus on Obtaining a
abuse-based treatment at the jail. Short-term comple-
tion is about six weeks, long-term is 90-plus days.
High School Diploma
We let them know what we offer upon release if they
join the program, which is housing, intensive outpa- The New York prison system strongly encourages
tient treatment, three hours a day three days a week, inmates to pass the HSE test while they are incarcerat-
vocational training, and/or employment training. ed or shortly after their release. About 30% of Osborne
clients are enrolled in its HSE prep program. Those
Upon release from jail, clients are placed into tran- who pass are channeled into community colleges.
sitional sober housing, where the goal is to help
them achieve and maintain sobriety, which staff Osborne fosters independence and doesnt track those
members have learned is crucial if any progress is to students. Among those who are failing, organiza-
be achieved. Another CRP staff member comments tions within the CUNY (City University of New York)
that a few years ago, the focus was on employment systemthe Prison Reentry Institute and the College
first; but over time, it became clear that the people in and Community Fellowshipprovide support services
the program were not going to succeed because they to improve college retention. Only about 15% come
werent really focusing on their sobriety. That, she back to Osborne to be redirected.
said, must be our main focus.
At the Department of Probation, Van Sluytman strongly
One of the former offenders interviewed echoed this rejected work-readiness programs for adult parolees.
theme. I had to take some type of drug counseling, go Reflecting the 2012 MDRC study of the CEO programs,
through like a lot of stuff, Marcus (not his real name) he believes that parolees may get jobs, but how long do
told us, but you know, it was like, it was worth it. they retain employment? As a result, the department
You know, knowledge and learning, then everything has shifted away from direct employment to an
opened. emphasis on strengthening educational improvement
for adults. It has set up HSE prep programs in the Bronx
Treatment is clearly the first step, but after clients are at the Neighborhood Opportunity Network (NeON),
stabilized (typically 6090 days), they are connected where the previously incarcerated go for probation.
11
 Identifying Effective Prisoner Reentry Strategies

After the HSE is successfully completed, the focus is programs suggests that the support services provided
exclusively on enrollment in a community college. to the New Jersey ex-offenders have proved effective
not only in lowering recidivism rates but have also
The Future Now program at Bronx Community College enabled those programs to have comparable employ-
is open to all borough residents, but almost half its ment rates with the Bronx programs. These outcomes
students have been incarcerated, the overwhelming strongly support the use of the Boston Reentry Initia-
majority at Rikers Island. Many of the former offend- tives multiservice approach for the parolees who are
ers have not passed the HSE test, so they enroll in a the most difficult to reintegrate.
prep program that has an 85% passing rate. A social
worker, funded by the Robin Hood Foundation, helps Central to the success of the Jersey City / Hudson
prep-program students, many of whom have issues County programs is a seamless transfer of services,
that impede their ability to concentrate on education. grounded in partnerships and collaboration, from
Though many of these students have mental-health prerelease to transitional housing to the community.
problems, there are no social services provided beyond The programs highlight the importance of partner-
the social worker. ships with community organizations and employers
to provide occupational training and/or job oppor-
It is not unusual for students in the Future Now program tunitiesand treatment in a therapeutic community
to miss classes. Future Now provides substantial one- before employment services, along with the imme-
on-one counseling and runs a weekly club at which stu- diate connection to services and programs (such as
dents meet to discuss academic, family, or other issues. health insurance, housing, cash assistance, and coun-
The relationships are so strong that clients continue to seling). Improving outcomes might rest on the state
seek out Future Now staff for guidance after they grad- prison system enabling many more inmates to attain
uate and go on to the senior college system. their HSE while incarcerated or soon thereafter, as is
the case in New York.
Compounding the significant personal issues that weigh
on them, many who enter Bronx Community College Our study also suggests that transitional employment
need remedial educationsome need six semesters to in the nonprofit sector may not be an effective way to
complete remediation requirements. The Pinkerton improve long-term employability in and of itself. In
Foundation subsidizes those who have used up their particular, the use of food pantries had little positive
financial aid. LaGuardia and a few other community employment effects while CEOs use of janitorial ser-
colleges have reduced the math remediation hurdle for vices in public institutions is not linked to the actual
students not going into STEM areas by letting them employment gained.
take hybrid courses, but Bronx Community College
faculty are resistant. In addition, many in the Future By contrast, the limited training programs used at
Now program combine school with work. Three of four Hostos and the success of the food-truck initiative
Future Now students do not graduate from the college. seem to demonstrate the value of training programs.
Still, this 25% graduation rate is higher than the com- Indeed, CEOs decision to shift to short-term certificate
munity colleges overall 15%18% graduation rate. training reflects the changing nature of seemingly less-
skilled employment: the need to demonstrate occupa-
tional- and industry-specific basic skills.

Conclusion Ex-offenders who do not have an HSE are in work-read-

iness programs with very limited certificate programs
All the large-scale work-readiness programs for ex-of- that run for two weeks, to give clients the most basic
fenders that we studied in the Bronx and New Jersey skills in various vocational areas. When we asked
appear to have the same 50%60% employment rates. Osborne and CEO officials why they are so limited, they
If clients had been assigned in a randomized manner, answered that the clients did not have the behavioral
this might suggest that the Fedcap approachimme- traits or academic skills necessary to sustain more ex-
diate paid employmentmight be the best, as it is the tensive training.
least costly. But the three large Bronx programs and the
ones in New Jersey have different client characteristics: Are former prison inmates who do obtain an HSE
Fedcap accepts the most work-ready while New Jersey prepared for community college and the eventual at-
focuses on some of the most problematic; Osborne As- tainment of four-year degrees while holding a job and
sociation and CEO are somewhere in between. dealing with a host of personal issues? Clearly, many
complete the HSE but still do not have the skills or be-
The clear differences in client characteristics between havioral traits to overcome their personal or social im-
12
pediments in order to sustain such a long-term goal. ing increased the likelihood of consistent living-wage
employment.14 Given the proven success of certifi-
The experience of former prisoners in the Future Now cates, more prisoner reentry programs should consider
program suggests that, for many, certificate programs, offering this type of training.
which prepare people for employment as soon as pos-
sible, may be the best choice. Virtually all the former New York governor Andrew Cuomo has recently pro-
prisoners have had bad experiences in academic set- posed offering free tuition to students attending public
tings that make it difficult for them to deal with dif- two- and four-year colleges. The proposal, as it stands
ficult classroom settings for an extended period of now, ignores vocational training and certificate pro-
time. Certificate programs can enable them to expe- gramsleaving out of the picture ex-offenders and
rience success in a shorter periodsuccess that they others who would benefit from getting the credentials
can build upon. that employers increasingly expect.

An example of a successful certificate program is Hos- This paper has examined the literature and conduct-
toss culinary program, which, beside its own staff, co- ed field investigations of prisoner reentry programs. It
ordinates with Workforce 1 Brooklyn to help students did not undertake a randomized control study, so our
find employment. Unfortunately, the New York City findings should be considered tentative. More rigor-
Department of Probation has virtually no involvement ous inquiries would be necessary to better judge the
with certificate programs. Peter Maertens, director of effectiveness of the Boston integration model to aid
Hostoss certificate programs, told us that, except for the most at-risk parolees, the efficacy of transitional
CEO, no other reentry program has asked for certifi- employment in nonprofit and public sites, and the un-
cate programs for its clients. derutilization of certificate programs. Nevertheless, by
highlighting several salient issues, it is our hope that
The postsecondary certificate, according to a recent these findings will help policymakers move forward
comprehensive report published by the Georgetown to identify the most effective strategies for the reentry
Center for Education and the Workforce, has become a population.
cost-effective tool for increasing postsecondary educa-
tion attainment and gainful employment.11 The study
found that certificates that are granted after a training
program that lasts for at least one year led their holders
to earn a wage premium identical to college associates
degrees (which are earned in two to three years)
almost 40% for women and about 20% for men.

The average certificate awarded after a short-term

training program of less than one year generally has
more limited valuebut not always. For example,
police and protective-services certificates are
predominantly short-term and earned by men, but
they exceed the average 27% wage premium for males
who hold similarly short-term certificates. Certificates
in business and office management are predominantly
short-term and earned by women, but they exceed
the earnings of the median female certificate holder.
Including all certificates, the wage premium was 16%
and 27%, respectively, for women and men. Similar
results are found in a recent U.S. Census Bureau study.12

A recent government report documented the posi-

tive role of certificate programs offered in the prison
systems of a number of states.13 It cited two studies
that specifically assessed the impact of certificates ob-
tained while incarcerated. One study found that those
who made educational gains while incarcerated had
increased employment rates and reduced recidivism.
Similarly, another study found that vocational train-
13
 Identifying Effective Prisoner Reentry Strategies

Endnotes
1 Matthew R. Durose, Alexia D. Cooper, and Howard N. Snyder, Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 30 States in 2005: Patterns from 2005 to 2010
Update, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Apr. 22, 2014.
2 Pew Center on the States, State of Recidivism: The Revolving Door of American Prisons, 2011.
3 Joyce Foundation, Transitional Jobs Reentry Demonstration: Testing Strategies to Help Former Prisoners Find and Keep Jobs and Stay Out of Prison,
Oct. 2010.
4 Cindy Redcross et al., Transitional Jobs for Ex-Prisoners: Implementation, Two-Year Impacts, and Costs of the Center for Employment Opportunities
(CEO) Prisoner Reentry Program, MDRC (Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation), Aug. 2009; Cindy Redcross et al., More than a Job: Final
Results from the Evaluation of the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) Transitional Jobs Program, U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, OPRE Report No. 2001-08, Jan. 15, 2012.
5 Ingrid Johnson, Moving Men into the Mainstream: The Newark Prisoner Reentry Initiative, Manhattan Institute, Sept. 1, 2015; Aaron Yelowitz and
Christopher Bollinger, Prison-to-Work: The Benefits of Intensive Job-Search Assistance for Former Inmates, Manhattan Institute, Civic Report no. 96,
March 2015.
6 Andrew Wiegand et al., Evaluation of the Reintegration of Ex-Offenders (RExO) Program: Two-Year Impact Report, Social Policy Research Associates,
May 2015.
7 Anthony A. Braga, Anne M. Piehl, and David Hureau, Controlling Violent Offenders Released to the Community: An Evaluation of the Boston Reentry
Initiative, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 46, no. 4 (Nov. 2009): 41136.
8 Lois M. Davis et al., How Effective Is Correctional Education, and Where Do We Go from Here? The Results of a Comprehensive Evaluation (Santa
Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation, 2014).
9 In 2014, New York, along with a dozen other states, including California and New Jersey, switched to the Test Assessing Secondary Completion
(TASC). Because of its math and science components, test preparation became more extensive, and they may initially have contributed to a sharp drop
in scores of new test takers. See Sarah Darville, Big Drop in Students Earning HS Equivalency Diplomas After GED Replaced, Chalkbeat, Feb. 9,
2015.
10 Redcross, More than a Job.
11 Anthony Carnevale, Stephen Rose, and Andrew Hanson, Certificates: A Gateway to Gainful Employment and College Degrees, Georgetown Center
for Education and the Workforce, June 12, 2012.
12 Stephanie Ewert and Robert Kaminski, Measuring Alternative Educational Credentials: 2012, U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census,
Jan. 2014.
13 Michelle Tolbert, Nondegree Credentials in Correctional Education: Status, Challenges, and Benefits, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Career,
Technical and Adult Education, July 2016.
14 Ibid., p. 26.

14
15
 May 2017

REPORT 38
Abstract
State and federal prisons release approximately 650,000 inmates each year.
Within the first year following their release, more than half of them are unable to
find a job and earn enough legal income to survive. The most recent government
national survey estimated that within three years of their release from prison,
two-thirds of ex-offenders are arrested for a new crime.
This study identifies some promising initiatives that help integrate former
prisoners into society and that possibly contribute to bringing down the rate of
recidivism. We examined reentry programs in New Jersey and New York City to
identify their strengths and weaknesses. We also examined public and nonprofit
programs serving both youth and young adults, some who have completed high
school equivalency and others who have not. The goal was to determine which
programs may be most effective for the most at-risk parolees; the relative merits
of transitional employment, short-term training, or direct employment; and the
effectiveness of academic tracks at community colleges.

Key Findings
1. T
 ransitional employmentusually menial work in public institutions or nonprofit
organizations, with no development of occupational skillsdoes not seem to improve
ex-offenders long-term job prospects but does modestly reduce recidivism. Programs
that devote time to occupational training alone show some modest positive effect on
employment but not on reducing recidivism.
2. P
 rograms that focus on reintegrating ex-prisoners into their communities,
combining occupational training, mentoring, social services, and some education,
have shown promising reductions in recidivism among certain kinds of offenders,
particularly those with substance-abuse or mental-health problems, over a sustained
period.
3. R
 eintegration initiatives that offer high school equivalency education (during or
immediately after incarceration) can be effective for increasing employment and
reducing recidivism. But programs that offer certification of skills in specific kinds
of jobs may be the best choice for offenders who have had difficulty in academic/
classroom settings.
4. Based on a survey of the research literature and our field investigation, there is no
one size fits all approach to improving the job prospects and reducing the arrest
rates of ex-offenders.