22: Workforce Development and the Transition Plan
Connect inmates to employment, including supportive employment and employment services, before their release to the community.
Overview
Connecting each prisoner to a job in the community in advance of his or her release date is a critical step to facilitating a successful return to the community. Many individuals will require assistance in finding and obtaining appropriate positions. Corrections staff and employment services providers should seek to promote direct linkages to jobs by increasing the flow of information and resources between the institution and the community.
Research Highlights
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Few inmates are connected to actual jobs-transitional or permanent-before release.
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Inmates would benefit from pre-release programs that enhance their job-seeking skills.
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Few prisons and county jails currently provide job placement services.
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There are relatively few community-based organizations that specialize in linking former prisoners to work; they are mostly locally based, and cannot begin to accommodate the national demand for services.
Recommendations
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Initiate job searches before people in prison or jail are released using community-based workforce development resources.
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Encourage employers to visit the correctional facility and meet with prospective employees before they are released.
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Engage community members and community-based services to act as intermediaries between employers and job-seeking individuals.
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Promote use of work-release programs as a transition between work inside a correctional facility and work after release into the community.
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Encourage community networks to support prisoners who participate in work release programs.
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Provide individuals, upon their release from prison or jail, with written information about their prospective employers or community employment service providers and official documentation of their skills and experience, including widely accepted cred
Related Policy Statements
Our Publications
Homelessness and Prisoner Reentry
Many people released from prison or jail are at risk for homelessness, which can increase the likelihood that they will commit new crimes and return to prison.
Related Information
Issue Area:
Sex Offenders
Issue Area:
Education and Employment
Program Example:
California: Ex-Felon Employment Initiative
San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and National Economic Development and Law Center

