Integrated Reentry and Employment Strategies: Pilot Project Process Evaluation Report
The IRES Pilot Project Process Evaluation Report details findings from the implementation of strategies to improve recidivism and job readiness for people returning to two communities from incarceration. Corrections, reentry, and workforce development administrators and practitioners from across the country can use these takeaways to facilitate conversations with key stakeholders about their own ability to integrate the efforts of corrections and workforce development systems to meet the reentry and employment needs of people returning from incarceration.
For the 95 percent of people in state prisons who will eventually be released and the many others who are returning to communities from local jails, employment can play a critical role in preventing recidivism—but jurisdictions often lack the resources and coordination to effectively connect people with the necessary services to improve employability.
To find solutions, beginning in 2015, a team of researchers and policy analysts from The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center set out to pilot the Integrated Reentry and Employment Strategies (IRES) framework in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, and Palm Beach County, Florida.
The framework, developed with support from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, aims to connect people leaving incarceration to the right reentry and employment services at the right intensity at the right time to reduce their chance of recidivating and improve employment readiness. From October 2017 to March 2018, CSG Justice Center staff evaluated the sites’ reentry coordination and service delivery efforts for 521 people assessed to participate in the study.
A new brief outlines five actions state career technical education (CTE) directors can take to improve workforce development…
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Federal officials on Friday agreed to ease restrictions that blocked some people with criminal records from receiving small-business…
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Few receive training in Kansas prisons. Thaddeus Watts is one of the lucky ones.
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Five Ways States Can Prep Youth in the Justice System for Employment
A new brief outlines five actions state career technical education (CTE) directors can take to improve workforce development training for young people in the justice system.
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Officials Reduce Barriers to COVID-19 Loans for People with Records
Federal officials on Friday agreed to ease restrictions that blocked some people with criminal records from receiving small-business loans needed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Thaddeus Watts Has “Been Through the Storm.” Workforce Training Helped Him Weather It.
Few receive training in Kansas prisons. Thaddeus Watts is one of the lucky ones.
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Advancing Justice in a Year of Crisis: Our 2020 Annual Report
State and local justice systems faced unprecedented challenges in 2020. We look back at our year of creating successes in the midst of hardship and building consensus despite conflict.
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How States Can Dismantle Employment Barriers for People with Criminal Records
A new report from the CSG Justice Center highlights the nearly 30,000 collateral consequences that affect a person’s ability to find and retain meaningful employment after a criminal conviction, and a new playbook outlines the steps states can take to dismantle these barriers.
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How States Can Reduce Structural Barriers to School and Work for People with Juvenile Records
A first-of-its-kind analysis from the CSG Justice Center examines education- and employment-related barriers in 12 states that affect people following their involvement with the juvenile justice system.
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