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Subgroups
Individuals who were receiving employment services at one of three agencies in the Washington, DC, area were eligible to participate in the study if they had been released from jail or prison within the last six months, had not had a job offer or been employed for more than 19 hours per week, and spoke English. After being recruited into the study, participants were interviewed for about an hour and a half and were then randomly assigned to the intervention or comparison group.
The intervention was studied over a two-week period, from random assignment through a post-intervention follow-up interview two weeks later.
Not available.
The study sample was mostly male (91 percent) and Black (85 percent), and the average age was 40 years old. The average education level of participants was between 12 and 13 years, and 81 percent of participants had at least a high school diploma or equivalent certification. About one-third (30 percent) of the sample indicated that their recent incarceration was because of a parole or probation violation, and a little more than half (53 percent) reported having been found guilty of a felony.
Three employment services organizations provided services: (1) Offender Aid and Restoration of Arlington County; (2) Jubilee Jobs of Washington, DC; and (3) Christopher Place of Baltimore, MD.
This intervention was adapted from the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills program developed at the Michigan Prevention Research Center at the University of Michigan, which has been implemented in Maryland, California, and outside the United States.
Project facilitators met for one hour with individual intervention group members to deliver the Inoculation Against Setbacks (IAS) module, designed to help participants anticipate future setbacks they might face as ex-offenders in the labor market, plan strategies for overcoming these setbacks, and stay positive and motivated about future challenges they might face in obtaining employment. Facilitators delivered this IAS module through two handouts. The first focused on a vignette of a woman who recently lost her job, and the second helped participants think of strategies to overcome future setbacks. IAS participants were then asked to write out strategies that would work best for them in overcoming setbacks and were encouraged to place these somewhere they would see frequently. All individuals also received additional employment services from the organization at which the intervention took place.
Participants in the comparison group received typical job search assistance services for one hour. All individuals also received additional employment services from the organization at which the intervention took place.
None.
Participants received services for about one hour.
Not available.
The program took place at three employment services organizations in the greater Washington, DC, area.
Self-efficacy, Job search behavior