Barriers to Employment for Offenders and Ex-offenders

Barriers to Employment for Offenders and Ex-offenders PDF Author: Hilary Metcalf
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Criminals
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
This research explores the evidence on the level, pattern and causes of unemployment among people with a criminal record (PwCR) in the UK, with a focus on the recruitment stage of the hiring process and the impact of knowledge of a criminal record on the decision to employ. The Police Act of 1977 introduced 'Basic Disclosure" which authorised employers, with the consent of the individual, to access information on job applicants' and employees' criminal records. A new piece of legislation, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, soon to come into force, will alter that ability, and for some PwCR, the Act will allow them to put their criminal record entirely behind them. The causes of unemployment among PwCrs is assumed to be high. However research shows that part of this group - those in prison, and those under probation supervision - exhibit characteristics associated with employment difficulties, such as low qualifications and drug and alcohol abuse. Irrespective of criminal record, this group would be expected to suffer above average levels of unemployment. What impact, then, does the criminal record alone have?

Barriers to Employment for Offenders and Ex-offenders

Barriers to Employment for Offenders and Ex-offenders PDF Author: Hilary Metcalf
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Criminals
Languages : en
Pages : 340

Get Book Here

Book Description
This research explores the evidence on the level, pattern and causes of unemployment among people with a criminal record (PwCR) in the UK, with a focus on the recruitment stage of the hiring process and the impact of knowledge of a criminal record on the decision to employ. The Police Act of 1977 introduced 'Basic Disclosure" which authorised employers, with the consent of the individual, to access information on job applicants' and employees' criminal records. A new piece of legislation, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, soon to come into force, will alter that ability, and for some PwCR, the Act will allow them to put their criminal record entirely behind them. The causes of unemployment among PwCrs is assumed to be high. However research shows that part of this group - those in prison, and those under probation supervision - exhibit characteristics associated with employment difficulties, such as low qualifications and drug and alcohol abuse. Irrespective of criminal record, this group would be expected to suffer above average levels of unemployment. What impact, then, does the criminal record alone have?

Barriers to Reentry?

Barriers to Reentry? PDF Author: Shawn D. Bushway
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
ISBN: 161044101X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 394

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Book Description
With the introduction of more aggressive policing, prosecution, and sentencing since the late 1970s, the number of Americans in prison has increased dramatically. While many have credited these "get tough" policies with lowering violent crime rates, we are only just beginning to understand the broader costs of mass incarceration. In Barriers to Reentry? experts on labor markets and the criminal justice system investigate how imprisonment affects ex-offenders' employment prospects, and how the challenge of finding work after prison affects the likelihood that they will break the law again and return to prison. The authors examine the intersection of imprisonment and employment from many vantage points, including employer surveys, interviews with former prisoners, and state data on prison employment programs and post-incarceration employment rates. Ex-prisoners face many obstacles to re-entering the job market—from employers' fears of negligent hiring lawsuits to the lost opportunities for acquiring work experience while incarcerated. In a study of former prisoners, Becky Pettit and Christopher Lyons find that employment among this group was actually higher immediately after their release than before they were incarcerated, but that over time their employment rate dropped to their pre-imprisonment levels. Exploring the demand side of the equation, Harry Holzer, Steven Raphael, and Michael Stoll report on their survey of employers in Los Angeles about the hiring of former criminals, in which they find strong evidence of pervasive hiring discrimination against ex-prisoners. Devah Pager finds similar evidence of employer discrimination in an experiment in which Milwaukee employers were presented with applications for otherwise comparable jobseekers, some of whom had criminal records and some of whom did not. Such findings are particularly troubling in light of research by Steven Raphael and David Weiman which shows that ex-criminals are more likely to violate parole if they are unemployed. In a concluding chapter, Bruce Western warns that prison is becoming the norm for too many inner-city minority males; by preventing access to the labor market, mass incarceration is exacerbating inequality. Western argues that, ultimately, the most successful policies are those that keep young men out of prison in the first place. Promoting social justice and reducing recidivism both demand greater efforts to reintegrate former prisoners into the workforce. Barriers to Reentry? cogently underscores one of the major social costs of incarceration, and builds a compelling case for rethinking the way our country rehabilitates criminals.

Integrating Substance Abuse Treatment and Vocational Services

Integrating Substance Abuse Treatment and Vocational Services PDF Author: Nancy K. Young
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Alcoholics
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description


Employment Barriers and Attitude to Employment for Male Ex-offenders

Employment Barriers and Attitude to Employment for Male Ex-offenders PDF Author: Ashley Oliver
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 155

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Book Description
Working is a central aspect of life, as employment is a means of survival and it allows for both social interaction and self-determination. One group in particular has historically struggled to obtain employment, namely ex-offenders. Despite the large number of unemployed ex-offenders, counseling psychology has not paid much attention to the specific vocational needs for this particular population. This study describes the difficulties that male ex-offenders have when trying to obtain employment. Specifically, the relationship between perceived barriers to employment and job search attitudes are examined in an adult male non-violent and violent offender population. The participants included 150 English-speaking adult males with a criminal record, aged 18 and older, and who were currently unemployed. Results supported that there is a relationship between their perceived barriers to employment and job search attitude. Results also supported a relationship between type of offense committed (violent vs. non-violent), total number of criminal convictions, and highest level of education completed and their Barriers to Employment Success overall score and Job Search Attitude overall score, with the most significant relationship being between highest level of education and one's overall barriers to employment. Results suggest that vocational programs should take more of a holistic approach, and incorporate interventions that are targeted at improving offender's attitudes, such as motivational interviewing, because it may help decrease their employment concerns and perceived employment barriers, and improve their attitudes.

Employment Barriers for the Ex-offender

Employment Barriers for the Ex-offender PDF Author: Judy Gale Correll
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 64

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Book Description


Best Jobs for Ex-Offenders

Best Jobs for Ex-Offenders PDF Author: Ronald L. Krannich
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781570233609
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Profiles 101 job opportunities for ex-offenders who are uncertain what they want to do, can do, and will do in the future. Includes 13 categories of occupations, from construction, maintenance, and production to transportation, hospitality, and sales. Examines each in terms of employment outlook, nature of work, working conditions, education requirements, and expected earnings. Includes summary charts of best jobs and chapters on transitional employment, job restrictions on ex-offenders, and barriers to employment.

After Prison

After Prison PDF Author: Rose Ricciardelli
Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press
ISBN: 1771123184
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
Employment for former prisoners is a critical pathway toward reintegration into society and is central to the processes of desistance from crime. Nevertheless, the economic climate in Western countries has aggravated the ability of former prisoners and people with criminal records to find gainful employment. After Prison opens with a former prisoner’s story of reintegration employment experiences. Next, relying on a combination of research interviews, quantitative data, and literature, contributors present an international comparative review of Canada’s evolving criminal record legislation; the promotive features of employment; the complex constraints and stigma former prisoners encounter as they seek employment; and the individual and societal benefits of assisting former prisoners attain “gainful” employment. A main theme throughout is the interrelationship between employment and other central conditions necessary for safety and sustenance. This book offers suggestions for criminal record policy amendments and new reintegration practices that would assist individuals in the search for employment. Using the evidence and research findings of practitioners and scholars in social work, criminology and law, psychology, and other related fields, the contributors concentrate on strategies that will reduce the stigma of having been in prison; foster supportive relationships between social and legal agencies and prisons and parole systems; and encourage individually tailored resources and training following release of individuals.

What Employers Want

What Employers Want PDF Author: Harry J. Holzer
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
ISBN: 1610442954
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
A very important contribution to the field of labor economics, and in particular to the understanding of the labor market forworkers with relatively low skill levels. I think we have the sense that the market looks bad, but haven't been clear on how bad it is, or how it got that way. What Employers Want provides some of the answers and identifies the important questions. It is essential reading. —Jeffrey S. Zax, University of Colorado at Boulder The substantial deterioration in employment and earnings among the nation's less-educated workers, especially minorities and younger males in the nation's big cities, has been tentatively ascribed to a variety of causes: an increase in required job skills, the movement of companies from the cities to the suburbs, and a rising unwillingness to hire minority job seekers. What Employers Want is the first book to replace conjecture about today's job market with first-hand information gleaned from employers about who gets hired. Drawn from asurvey of over 3,000 employers in four major metropolitan areas—Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta, and Detroit—this volume provides a wealth of data on what jobs are available to the less-educated, in what industries, what skills they require, where they are located, what they pay, and how they are filled. The evidence points to a dramatic surge in suburban, white-collar jobs. The manufacturing industry—once a steady employer of blue-collar workers—has been eclipsed by the expanding retail trade and service industries, where the vast majority of jobs are in clerical, managerial, or sales positions. Since manufacturing establishments have been the most likely employers to move from the central cities to the suburbs, the shortage of jobs for low-skill urban workers is particularly acute. In the central cities, the problem is compounded and available jobs remain vacant because employers increasingly require greater cognitive and social skills as well as specific job-related experience. Holzer reveals the extent to which minorities are routinely excluded by employer recruitment and screening practices that rely heavily on testing, informal referrals, and stable work histories. The inaccessible location and discriminatory hiring patterns of suburban employers further limit the hiring of black males in particular, while earnings, especially for minority females, remain low. Proponents of welfare reform often assume that stricter work requirements and shorter eligibility periods will effectively channel welfare recipients toward steady employment and off federal subsidies. What Employers Want directly challenges this premise and demonstrates that only concerted efforts to close the gap between urban employers and inner city residents can produce healthy levels of employment in the nation's cities. Professor Holzer outlines the measures that will benecessary—targeted education and training programs, improved transportation and job placement, heightened enforcement of antidiscrimination laws, and aggressive job creation strategies. Repairing urban labor markets will not be easy. This book shows why. A Volume in the Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality

Marked

Marked PDF Author: Devah Pager
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226644855
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
Nearly every job application asks it: have you ever been convicted of a crime? For the hundreds of thousands of young men leaving American prisons each year, their answer to that question may determine whether they can find work and begin rebuilding their lives. The product of an innovative field experiment, Marked gives us our first real glimpse into the tremendous difficulties facing ex-offenders in the job market. Devah Pager matched up pairs of young men, randomly assigned them criminal records, then sent them on hundreds of real job searches throughout the city of Milwaukee. Her applicants were attractive, articulate, and capable—yet ex-offenders received less than half the callbacks of the equally qualified applicants without criminal backgrounds. Young black men, meanwhile, paid a particularly high price: those with clean records fared no better in their job searches than white men just out of prison. Such shocking barriers to legitimate work, Pager contends, are an important reason that many ex-prisoners soon find themselves back in the realm of poverty, underground employment, and crime that led them to prison in the first place. “Using scholarly research, field research in Milwaukee, and graphics, [Pager] shows that ex-offenders, white or black, stand a very poor chance of getting a legitimate job. . . . Both informative and convincing.”—Library Journal “Marked is that rare book: a penetrating text that rings with moral concern couched in vivid prose—and one of the most useful sociological studies in years.”—Michael Eric Dyson

Reducing Barriers to Employment for Women Ex-offenders

Reducing Barriers to Employment for Women Ex-offenders PDF Author: Patricia O'Brien
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Ex-convicts
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description