28: Job Development and Supportive Employment
Recognize and address the obstacles that make it difficult for an ex-offender to obtain and retain viable employment while under community supervision.
Overview
Individuals released from prison or jail are likely to need support to maintain employment, or to find jobs if they have not done so prior to their release to the community. Community corrections officials can play a role in this process by assisting individuals after release with logistical barriers to employment, trying to accommodate the job requirements of these individuals in implementing the supervision strategy, and referring releasees to community-based organizations that provide more extensive employment services.
Research Highlights
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People with criminal convictions face substantial legal and logistical barriers in obtaining a job.
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Most individuals are released from prison or jail without a job or transitional work placement.
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Even when former prisoners do secure employment, job retention over the medium to long term is a challenge.
Recommendations
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Update community corrections policy so that it encourages, rather than discourages, employing people on probation or parole.
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Assist, to the extent appropriate, people with criminal records seeking to surmount legal and logistical obstacles to employment.
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Promote supportive transitional employment programs through community corrections.
Related Policy Statements
Our Publications
This publication discusses how policymakers can increase accountability among people who commit crimes, improve rates of child support collection and victim restitution, and make people’s transition from prisons and jails to the community safe and successful.
Related Information
Issue Area:
Sex Offenders
Issue Area:
Education and Employment
Program Example:
California: Ex-Felon Employment Initiative
San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and National Economic Development and Law Center

