| | Description: | In 2022, over 16,000 persons exited prison in Illinois (Illinois Department of Corrections, n.d.-b). Employment is a major factor in successful community reintegration after prison release. Not only is it important to formerly incarcerated individuals, families, and their communities it is also associated with lower rates of recidivism (Berger-Gross, 2022; Flatt and Jacobs, 2018; Nally, et al., 2014; Yang, 2017). However, formerly incarcerated persons face many barriers to employment, such as stigma by employers; restrictions or prohibition to some jobs because of criminal records; lack of or gaps in work experience; and deficits in human capital, such as inadequate education, training, or vocational skills (Pogrebin et al., 2014). These barriers keep the formerly incarcerated from being competitive in the labor market. Even years after release, these individuals consistently have low rates of employment (Looney and Turner, 2018). The jobs that are available are often low skill, seasonal, temporary, and part-time. They provide low wages and limited, or no, benefits. While most individuals struggle to obtain employment post release, certain groups are at a greater disadvantage because of race and gender (Pew Charitable Trusts, 2010; Western and Sirois, 2019). Both race and gender affect earnings and employment(Carson, et al., 2021; Couloute and Kopf, 2018). Prison and community reentry programs can help increase individuals probability of post-release employment. However, such programs are not sufficiently available to serve all who need them. | |
