Reentry Projects Grant Evaluation - Participants Perspectives During Reentry Project Programs Issue Brief

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Release Date: March 01, 2023

Reentry Projects Grant Evaluation - Participants Perspectives During Reentry Project Programs Issue Brief

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Topic

Re-Entry ,  Employment and Training

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About the Brief

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The brief highlights the service needs that interviewed Reentry Project (RP) participants reported when leaving incarceration; their barriers to employment; their experiences during and after they participated in the programs; their perspectives on program elements such as vocational training, supportive services, and job placement; and their recommendations for improvement. Drawing on insights provided through participant interviews, this brief seeks to understand how select participants experienced RP services, as well as learning from them to understand potential challenges participants face when engaging in reentry programming and practices they perceived as successfully addressing their needs. The findings included in this brief are not representative of RP participants, as they reflect the views of select participants from the subset of grantees included in the virtual site visits. This brief relies on the voice of participants to learn more about the RP programs and to highlight and elevate participant voices. Interviews with RP participants were conducted from December 2021 to April 2022 over video. Among the interviewed participants, 34 participated in RP programs after incarceration, and 3 began participating while incarcerated.

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Key Takeaways

  • RP participants stressed their motivation to improve their lives and identified service needs immediately following their release from incarceration that could help them achieve that goal.
  • RP participants reported that the biggest barrier that they faced when finding and retaining work was their background with the justice system.
  • The RP service that participants most commonly reported as useful for their future was training and certifications.

Citation

Hebbar, L., Martinez, S. (2022). Social Policy Research. Participants’ Perspectives During Reentry Project Programs. 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.