An Opportunity for a Reset: The Experiences of Jail-Based American Job Center Customers Before and After Release Issue Brief

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Release Date: May 01, 2018

An Opportunity for a Reset: The Experiences of Jail-Based American Job Center Customers Before and After Release Issue Brief

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Topic

Employment and Training ,  Re-Entry

Research Methods

Study Population

DOL Partner Agency

U.S. Regions

U.S. States

Country

About the Brief

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The brief describes Linking to Employment Activities Pre-Release (LEAP) participants’ experiences, their impressions of the staff they encountered, and their suggestions for improvement, based on data from 18 pre-release and 9 post-release focus groups. Of the 3,110 LEAP participants enrolled as of June 2017, 104 attended the focus groups.

Key Takeaways

  • Participants valued job-search preparation and assistance, instruction in cognitive-behavioral change, and supportive services such as help obtaining identification cards and transportation.
  • Participants “felt human” in the jail-based American Job Centers (AJCs), primarily because of their interactions with staff.
  • Participants overwhelmingly reported strong, positive relationships with AJC staff, though in some sites they reported staff members were stretched thin.
  • Participants requested more occupation-specific skill training and better coordination between jail- and community-based AJC staff and corrections staff to facilitate participation in post-release services and employment.

Citation

Gould-Werth, A. (2018). Mathematica. “An Opportunity for a Reset”: The Experiences of Jail-Based American Job Center Customers Before and After Release. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy and CEO’s research development process.