Second Chance Act (SCA) Adult Demonstration had the largest effects on long-term annual earnings (an average of $6,233 per year). The SCA Adult Demonstration Program aimed to reduce recidivism among adults who were recently incarcerated and were assessed as being at medium or high risk of recidivism. The program provided reentry services, including case management, education and training, employment assistance, treatment for substance use disorder, and mental health services.
Transitional Jobs Reentry Demonstration (TJRD) had the largest effects on long-term employment (an average of 11 percentage points). The TJRD provided people who were formerly incarcerated with job search and placement assistance and subsidized employment opportunities to help reduce recidivism and increase self-sufficiency among participants.
Ready, Willing and Able Pathways2Work (Pathways) had the largest effects on long-term benefit receipt (decreasing the amount of public benefits received by $404 per year). Pathways provided job-readiness training, case management, transitional jobs, and subsidized internships to people recently released from prison to support participants in securing unsubsidized employment.
Decrease long-term benefit receipt
RecycleForce had the largest effects on education and training (increasing the attainment of a degree or credential by an average of 24 percentage points). RecycleForce sought to help formerly incarcerated individuals reenter the workforce by placing them in transitional jobs at social enterprises, where they received job training, work experience, and support from peer mentors.
Program facilitators and participants met for a single, one-on-one session to predict challenges participants might face in their job searches and in the workplace. They then developed strategies to overcome these challenges. Facilitators delivered the IAS Module for one hour using two handouts.
Participants received the opportunity to gain and maintain employment before their release from prison, though they were responsible for finding their own job. Most participants found jobs through newspaper listings, typically within two to four weeks after starting the program. Additionally, participants transferred to work release centers, where they attend an orientation on the work release program and were allowed to leave the center for their scheduled work hours. Participants who attained employment had 45 percent of wages garnished for room and board in work-release centers.
TJRD participants were provided with 30 to 40 hours of transitional, subsidized employment; job search assistance; and other supports, including job coaching and classes before employment. Case managers acted as the primary point of contact for participants and helped participants access support for transportation, housing, and clothing, as well as referrals to training programs and substance abuse or mental health treatment.
Community-based organizations (more than 25 as of the time the evaluation was published) offer STRIVE. Participants first attended a job-readiness training that covered interview techniques and helped develop participants’ soft skills, including the attitudes and behaviors necessary to be successful in the workplace. Participants who had been released from jail or prison within the last 24 hours (or within the last 72 hours if released on a Friday or traveling a significant distance) received housing.
The Vocational Coaches to Enhance MST-EA program provided two one-hour sessions of individualized vocational coaching each week to young adults receiving MST-EA programming in areas of employment, education, health, housing, parenting, and financial literacy. The coaches provided vocational support with a focus on each of these specific support areas for three to seven sessions. Participants typically received the intervention over an average of seven to eight months.
Participants started the program with a four-day preemployment, life-skills class focusing on job-readiness issues, such as workplace behavior, job search skills, and decision making. The program then placed participants in transitional jobs at New York City agencies. Participants worked in these transitional jobs for four days a week at the state minimum wage and were paid at the end of each day. On the fifth day of each week, participants met with job coaches at the CEO office to discuss their performance at the transitional job and prepare for future interviews.
