Reentry Projects Grant Evaluation

• Implementing Employment Programs to Support Reentry: Lessons from the Reentry Project Grants (Implementation Report, March 2023)
• DOL Evaluation Design Pre-Specification Plan: Reentry Programs (Issue Brief, March 2023)
• Advancing Employment Opportunities for Justice-Involved Individuals through Work-Based Learning: Experiences from Reentry Project Grantees (Issue Brief, March 2023)
• Adult and Young Adult Reentry Project Grants: Differences in Service Offerings and Implementation Challenges (Issue Brief, March 2023)
• Participants’ Perspectives During Reentry Project Programs (Issue Brief, March 2023)
• Portrait of the Reentry Project Grantees (Issue Brief, March 2023)
• Connecting Reentry Project (RP) Participants to In-Demand Local Industries: Insights from RP Grant Programs (Issue Brief, March 2023)
• Common Indicators of Recidivism Used in Program and Policy Evaluations (Issue Brief, March 2023)
• Using Risk/Needs Assessments in Reentry Services (Issue Brief, March 2023)
• Data Privacy Seminars (One-Pager, March 2023)
• Supporting Reentry Employment and Success: A Summary of the Evidence for Adults and Young Adults (Final Report, September 2019)

• How were programs implemented? What are the types and combinations of services and approaches provided? What employment focused services were offered?
• What impact does the Reentry Employment Opportunity (REO) program, or strategies implemented under this program, have on the outcomes of participants?
• To what extent do outcomes and impacts vary across selected subpopulations?
• Are there key program elements that are common to successful models of comprehensive reentry programs (e.g., structure, organization, service delivery, partnerships, etc.)?

Final report: Implementing Employment Programs to Support Reentry: Lessons from the Reentry Project Grants

• Connecting participants to education and training was identified as a key success. Program staff and participants from 15 sites indicated that some of their programs’ greatest successes were helping participants complete education and training services and to obtain degrees and certifications. Grantees offered a diverse set of education and training to participants, including work-based learning (WBL) opportunities.
• Helping participants find and retain jobs was one of the greatest successes. Staff members from four sites also described helping participants find jobs with the potential for advancement. 
• When working to place participants in employment, RP program staff provided intensive job search support, job placement, and retention assistance. Job placement assistance was reported as an important employment-focused service. RP grantees stressed that their programs build up to employment, with all the previous steps—assessment, goal setting, and training—leading up to job placement. RP staff then helped support career exploration, connected participants directly to employers for application and interviews, and provided ongoing support following placement.

Issue brief: Advancing Employment Opportunities for Justice-Involved Individuals through Work-Based Learning: Experiences from Reentry Project Grantees

• Most (23 of 27) sites included in the study offered access to paid and/or unpaid Work-based Learning (WBL) opportunities, providing those services directly through their RP programs or through referrals to partner organizations such as American Job Centers (AJC), unions, community colleges, etc. Twenty-one RP sites reported offering access to paid WBL opportunities such as paid internships, on-the-job training (OJT), and apprenticeship programs, whereas 16 sites reported offering access to unpaid WBL opportunities, such as facility tours, job shadowing, unpaid internships, and pre-apprenticeship programs. Fourteen sites offered a combination of both paid and unpaid WBL to justice-involved individuals participating in their RP programs.
• WBL offered justice-involved individuals opportunities to earn an income while engaging in training, building their workplace skills, and gaining real-world experience. It also served as a conduit for employers to gain familiarity with and comfort in hiring justice-involved individuals. Even though participants and program staff preferred OJT opportunities, program staff from 14 sites that offered access to WBL reported that the pandemic limited their ability to offer both paid and unpaid WBL opportunities because opportunities “dried up” among businesses in their communities.
• Future programs could benefit from providing additional supports, including supportive services, ongoing case management, and mentoring, to encourage participation and completion of WBL opportunities for justice-involved individuals. Just over half of RP sites that provided WBL opportunities (13 of 23) reported barriers, such as reliable transportation and mental and behavioral health problems, that affected justice-involved individuals’ ability to participate and/or complete WBL activities.

Key Takeaways from the Overarching Evaluation

• Researchers found most prior studies of adult employment reentry programs do not consistently show effects due to variation in program models, implementation quality, and study designs.
• Reentry programs specifically tailored to young adults were found to often include job training or employment support, but evidence of employment impacts is limited.
• According to researchers, cognitive-behavioral therapy interventions reduce recidivism for justice-involved adults but impacts on young adults and on employment outcomes are unknown. 
• The ongoing REO evaluation has the potential to provide evidence on strategies to reduce recidivism and increase employment for justice-involved individuals.
   

Report

Geckeler, C., Cadena-Igdalsky, L., Gutierrez, I., Levin, M., Martinez, S., Muñoz, J., Paprocki, A., Sarver., English, B., Yañez, A., Bellotti, J. (2023). Social Policy Research Associates and Mathematica. Implementing Employment Programs to Support Reentry: Lessons from the Reentry Project Grants. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

Brief

Mathematica and Social Policy Research Associates. (2022). DOL Evaluation Design Pre-Specification Plan: Reentry Programs. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

Brief

Khemani, D., Cadena-Igdalsky, L. (2022) Social Policy Research Associates and Mathematica. Advancing Employment Opportunities for Justice-Involved Individuals through Work-Based Learning: Experiences from Reentry Project Grantees. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

Brief

Stapleton, T., Ladinsky, J., Bellotti, J. (2022). Mathematica. Adult and Young Adult Reentry Project Grants: Differences in Service Offerings and Implementation Challenges. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

Brief

Hebbar, L., Martinez, S. (2022). Social Policy Research Associates and Mathematica. Participants’ Perspectives During Reentry Project Programs. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

Brief

Lewis, G., Stein, J. (2022). Mathematica. Portrait of the Reentry Project Grantees. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

Brief

Lewis, G., Hollie, B. (2022). Mathematica. Connecting Reentry Project (RP) Participants to In-Demand Local Industries: Insights from RP Grant Programs. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

Brief

Lai, I., Stein, J., Geckeler, C., Pasternack, E. (2022). Social Policy Research Associates and Mathematica. Common Indicators of Recidivism Used in Program and Policy Evaluations. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

Brief

Stein, J., Pranschke, L., Pasternack, E. (2023). Mathematica. Using Risk/Needs Assessments in Reentry Services. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

One-Pager

Mathematica. (2022). Data Privacy Seminars. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

Final Report

Mathematica and Social Policy Research Associates. (2010). Supporting Reentry Employment and Success: A Summary of the Evidence for Adults and Young Adults. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.