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T
he impact of community-based employment
on offender reintegration
Christa A. Gillis and Mark Nafekh
1
Performance Assurance, Correctional Service of Canada
Employment programming and outcome
Methodologicalweaknesseshavebeennotedby
numerousresearchersattemptingtoreviewthe
employmentliterature,
6
includingdefinitionalissues
(e.g.,definingvariablesinadichotomousmanner),
whichoverlookimportantfactorssuchasquality
ofparticipation,lengthoftimeintheprogram,and
reasonsforattrition.Additionally,manyprogram
evaluationsfailtoreportimportantinformation
pertainingtooffenderemploymentneedsand
competenciespriortoprogramparticipation.
Moreover,theissueofco-morbidityinoffender
needs,suchasthecombinationofemploymentand
substanceabuseneeds,isimportanttoconsiderfor
itspotentialimpactonworkperformanceand
treatmentgain.
Thelimitationsinresearchmethodologydesigned
toexploretheefficacyofemploymentinterventions
incontributingtoreducedrecidivismwereaptly
andsuccinctlysummarizedbyRyan:
7
problemsin
researchmethodologyandprogramdevelopment,
includingcomparabilityofexperimentaland
controlgroups,selectionofparticipants,tracking
ofex-offenders,differentiationbetweenstructural
andsubculturalvariables,anddefinitionofjob
retention.Acomprehensiveevaluationof
employmentprogrameffectivenessmustthus
consideravarietyoffactorsthatmaymoderatethe
impactoftheprogramonthecriterionofinterest
(e.g.,jobattainmentandretention,successful
communityperformance).
Findingsregardingtheimpactofemployment
traininghavebeenequivocal,
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withsomestudies
reportingpositiveeffectsofemploymenton
recidivism,andothersreportinglimitedorno
effects.Somereviewers,basedonaqualitative
analysisoftheliterature,haveadoptedafairly
optimisticoutlookontheimpactofemployment
trainingonrecidivism.
9
PearsonandLipton,
10
in
theirmeta-analyticreviewofeducationaland
vocationalprograms,stated:Althoughsome
10
typesofeducationalandvocationalprograms
appearpromising intermsofreducingrecidivism,
duetoalackofstudiesusinghigh-qualityresearch
methodsweareunabletoconcludethattheyhave
beenverified effectiveinreducingrecidivism
(Abstract,italicsinoriginal).
Method
Thepresentstudywasdesignedtoexploretheimpact
ofemploymentonoffenderscommunity-based
outcomes(i.e.,measuresofsustainedreintegration,
includinglengthoftimeinthecommunity),while
controllingforriskandneedvariablesthatimpact
communityreintegration.Forthepurposeofthese
analyses,allavailabledataforfederallysentenced
offenderswereextractedfromtheCorrectional
ServiceofCanadas(CSCs)automateddatabase
(OffenderManagementSystem;OMS).Community
employmentinformationwasavailablefor
23,525federaloffendersreleasedonaconditional
releasebetweenJanuary1,1998andJanuary1,2005.
Approximately95%weremen(N=22,269)and5%
werewomen(N=1,256)*.
Theemploymentexperiencesoffederaloffenders
conditionallyreleasedtothecommunitywas
identifiedthroughCSCsOffenderManagement
System.Uponidentifyingtheemployedgroup,
thematchedgroupwasdevelopedusingSAS
(StatisticalAnalysisSystem)software.Next,offender
identifiersforbothgroupswerelinkedtothose
intheOMSdatacontaininginformationrelevant
tothestudy(demographicinformation,sentence
information,andratingsassociatedwiththestatic
anddynamiclevelsofintervention).
Thepopulationwasdividedintotwogroups:
offendersrecordedasbeingemployedbetweentheir
releasedateandtheendoftheirsentenceandthose
whowereunemployed.Theemployedgroupwas
thenrandomlymatchedtotheunemployedgroup,
withthematchingcriteriacontrollingfortime,
opportunityandtendency.Matchingcriteriaalso
addressedtheissueofco-morbidityinoffenderneeds.
Specifically,thegroupswerematchedongender,risk
level,releaseyear,sentencelength,severaldynamic
factors,**andtheregionalstatisticareaclassification
(SAC)***groupingswhichcorrespondedtothe
offendersdesignatedsupervisionoffice.The
matchingprocessyieldedsamplesof4,640men
and156women.****
Theinformationwassubjectedtosurvivalanalysis,
astatisticaltechniquethatestimatesthetimetaken
toreachaneventandtherateofoccurrenceofthat
event.Thistypeofanalysiswasusedtodraw
comparisonsbetweenemploymentgroupsacross
threeeventsoroutcomemeasures:1)anyreturnto
federalcustodybeforetheendofsentence;2)areturn
tofederalcustodywithanewoffencebeforeendof
sentence;and3)areturntofederalcustodywithout
anewoffencebeforeendofsentence.Comparisons
weredrawnformenandwomenseparately.
Results
Themediantimetooutcomewasusedasameasure
ofcentraltendencyforthesurvivaldata.An
examinationofthereleasecohortrevealedthatthe
survivalcurvesforemploymentweresignificantly
differentformenandwomen[
2
(1,N=24,061)=
19.40,p.001).Themediantimetoemployment
was6monthsformenand10monthsforwomen.
However,asillustratedifFigure1,bothsurvival
curveseventuallyconverged,indicatingthatover
time,therewerefewerdifferencesinemployment
ratesbygender.
Whencomparedtotheirmatchedcounterparts,
employedmenweremorelikelytoremainon
conditionalreleaseuntiltheendoftheirsentence
[
2
(1,N=4,653)=357.40,p.001)].Themediantimeto
returnwasalsolaterfortheemployedgroup(11
monthsversus37months,respectively).Employed
menwerealsolesslikelytoreturntofederalcustody
withanewoffence[
2
(1,N=4,653)=86.71,p.001)]or
technicalrevocation[
2
(1,N=4,653)=128.62,p.001)]
(seeFigures2,3and4).
Forwomenoffenders,theemployedgroupwas
morelikelytoremainonconditionalreleaseuntil
theendoftheirsentence[
2
(1,N=156)=9.09,p.01)].
Anexaminationofthesurvivalcurves(see
Figure5)revealsthatattheendofthestudyperiod,
approximately70%oftheemployedgroupremained
onconditionalreleasecomparedtoapproximately
55%oftheunemployedgroup.Lowbaseratesfor
returnswithanewoffenceprecludedanyestimation
ofthemediantimeinthecommunity.However,the
employedgroupwaslesslikelytoreturnwithanew
offencethantheirmatchedcounterparts[
2
(1,N=156)
=8.54,p.05)].Therewerenosignificantbetween
groupdifferencesfortechnicalrevocations.
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tooffendersreleasedtothecommunity.Apreliminary
explorationofthecentreswasrecentlyconductedby
Gillis&Crutcher.
11
Thisprofile,alongwithrecent
evaluationfindings,
12
demonstratesthatthecentres
aremeetinganimportantdemand,respondingto
theriskandneedprinciplesinprovidingservices
tooffenderswithidentifiedemploymentneeds.For
offenderswithconsiderablebarriers,moreintensive
employmentprogrammingmaybenecessary,and
shouldbeaccessibletooffenderspriortorelease,or
astheyarereleasedtothecommunity.
Employment,asaprogram,hasbeeneclipsed
overthepastdecadeswiththeadventandwide
1
340LaurierAvenueWest,Ottawa,ONK1A0P9
2
Enocksson,K.(1981).Correctionalprograms:Areviewofthevalueof
educationandtraininginpenalinstitutions.Journal of Offender Counseling,
Services and Rehabilitation, 5(1),518.Also,seeFinn,P.(1998).Job
placementforoffendersinrelationtorecidivism.Journal of Offender
Rehabilitation, 28(1/2),89106.Seealso,Gendreau,P.,Goggin,C.,&
Gray,G.(1998).Caseneeddomain:Employment.Forum on
Corrections Research, 10(3),1619.
3
Motiuk,L.(1997).Classificationforcorrectionalprogramming:
TheOffenderIntakeAssessment(OIA)process.Forum on Corrections
Research, 9(1),1822.
4
Markley,H.,Flynn,K.,&Bercaw-Dooen,S.(1983).Offenderskills
trainingandemploymentsuccess:Anevaluationofoutcomes.
Corrective and Social Psychiatry and Journal of Behavior Technology
Methods and Therapy, 29,111.
5
Gillis,C.A.,&Andrews,D.A.(2002).Understandingemployment:
Aprospectiveexplorationoffactorslinkedtocommunity-based
employmentamongfederaloffenders.Forum on Corrections Research,
14(1),36.Also,seeGillis,C.A.,&Andrews,D.A.(2005).Predicting
community employment for federal offenders on conditional release. Research
report,ResearchBranch,CorrectionalServiceCanada,Ottawa,ON.
6
Gaes,G.G.,Flanagan,T.J.,Motiuk,L.L.,&Stewart,L.(1999).Adult
correctionaltreatment.InM.TonryandJ.Petersilia(Eds.),Prisons
(pp.361426).Chicago,IL:UniversityofChicagoPress.Also,see
Gerber,J.,&Fritsch,E.J.(1995).Adultacademicandvocational
correctionaleducationprograms:Areviewofrecentresearch.Journal
of Offender Rehabilitation, 22(1/2),119142.Seealso,Pearson,F.S.,
&Lipton,D.S.(1999).The effectiveness of educational and vocational
programs: CDATE meta-analyses. Paperpresentedattheannualmeeting
Dont be shy
distributionofprogramsdesignedtoaddressother
needareas(e.g.,substanceabuseandviolence).
Employmentinitiativeshaveexistedsincethe
adventofinstitutions,yetasnotedbyAndrews
etal.,
13
itcanbesaidthattheemploymentfactor,
forallofthetraditionalattentionithasreceived
incorrections,hasnotreceivedthequalityof
attentionitdeserves.Itishopedthatthisresearch
willcontributetosolidifyingtheperceptionof
employmentasanimportantfactorinoffenders
communityreintegration,andtofurtheringits
statusasasignificantprogramarea.
oftheAmericanSocietyofCriminology,Toronto,ON.Also,seeRyan,
T.A.(1998).Job retention of offenders and ex-offenders: Review and synthesis
of the literature. Unpublishedmanuscript,CollegeofCriminalJustice,
UniversityofSouthCarolina,Columbia,SC.
7
Op.Cit.,Ryan,1998,p.E5.
8
Op.Cit.,Gaes,1999;Gerber&Fritsch,1995;Pearson&Lipton,1999;
Ryan,1998.
9
Op.Cit.,Finn,1998.Also,seeGerber&Fritsch,1995.
10
Op.Cit.,Pearson&Lipton,1999.
11
Gillis&Crutcher,2005,thisvolume.
12
Op.Cit.,Gillis&Andrews,2005.
13
Andrews,D.A.;Pirs,S.;Walker,J.&Hurge,A.(1980).Atheoretical,
researchandprogramframeworkforemployment-orientedservices
inprobationandparole:(Aninterimreport).PartsI,II,III,IV,
andVI.Ontario:MinistryofCorrectionalServices.(p.3).
* Theanalysesexamineduniquesentences,thusitispossibleforoffenderstoappearmore
thanonceinthepopulation.
** Dynamicfactorswerethoseassessedjustpriortotheoffendersreleasedates.Theyare
comprisedofthefollowingdomains:employment,family/maritalrelations,associates,
substanceabuse,communityfunctioning,personalemotionalorientation,andattitudes.
*** TheSACsidentifygeographiczonesbasedonpopulationcountsanddensitiesresulting
fromthe2001CanadianPopulationCensus.Thezonesareclassifiedasbeingacomponent
of1)CensusMetropolitanAreas(CMA)whichhaveapopulationover100,000,2)Census
Agglomeration(CA)areaswhichhaveapopulationthatislessthan100,000butmore
than10,000and3)RuralCommunities(RC)whichincludeallothertown,villagesbut
excludesreservecommunities.Thisgeographicdesignationwasbasedonthepremise
thatoffendersresidedrelativelyclosetothelocationwheretheywerebeingsupervised.
****Eachsamplewascomprisedofunemployedoffenders(50%),andemployedoffenders(50%).
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