The Palm Beach County Transitional Employment Program (PBC TEP) was designed as an enhanced voluntary reentry intervention for adults at higher risk of re-offending that added 8-12 weeks of subsidized transitional employment, structured cognitive behavioral interventions, and job readiness/life skills workshops to standard reentry services.Subsidized transitional employment was in one of three industries: construction, kitchen, or warehouse/retail. The structured cognitive behavioral interventions included CBI-Employment Adult and Moral Reconation Therapy.
The three TEPs varied in their intensity and duration:
- Construction TEP: 10-week, 28-hour per week program with 24 hours of work experience and 4 hours of Moral Reconation Therapy per week.
- Kitchen TEP: 8-week, 16-hour per week program with 2 days of work per week and 4 hours of CBI-Employment per week.
- Warehouse/retail TEP: 12-week, 20-hour per week program with 16 hours of work per week and 4 hours of Moral Reconation Therapy plus attending an employment readiness workshop one day per week.
Eligibility assessments for PBC TEP included completing the LSI-R for risk of re-offending and the Employment Readiness Checklist (ERC) to assess employment readiness. Individuals had to have at least a low/moderate score on the LSI-R (14 or above) and be less job ready (ERC score of 35 or under) to be eligible for PBC TEP. The study was conducted in Palm Beach County, FL.
The Palm Beach County Transitional Employment Program (PBC TEP) was designed as an enhanced voluntary reentry intervention for adults at higher risk of re-offending that added 8-12 weeks of subsidized transitional employment, structured cognitive behavioral interventions, and job readiness/life skills workshops to standard reentry services.