Employer Attitudes Toward Hiring Ex-Offenders

Discuss about a Essay on Employer Attitudes Toward Hiring Ex-Offenders?

This article was written by Albright & Denq and published in the Prison Journal in 1996. The researchers of this article aimed to determine the attitude of the employers to hire ex-offenders. Besides, it is also found that the authors aimed to find out how the attitudes of the employers are affected by the training level of the ex-offenders. The researchers showed that there were different factors that can affect the attitudes of the employers such as the type of offense committed by the offender, the amount of incentive offered by the government to hire and the relationship of the types of crime with the particular working field. In this research paper, the researchers included 83-Houston and Dallas employers, who initially showed their willingness to recruit ex-offenders. However, the number of hiring ex-offenders in the job is lesser than the regular employers. The researchers gathered the data and analyzed it. The findings of the research indicate that the government incentives, the level of education and the relationship of the offend with the job can decrease or increase the willingness of an employee to recruit an ex-offender in the job. The researchers also discussed the application, and the limitations of the findings are also discussed by the researchers.

This journal was written by Berk et al. in 1980. In this article, the researchers were focused on the relationship between crime and poverty, which is based on then evidence collected from ex-offenders. In this article, the researchers showed findings from a randomized experiment. This experiment was conducted on more than 2000 ex-offenders in the states of Georgia and Texas. In these states, it is observed that the benefits of the unemployment were extended to the people immediately after returning from imprisonment. The researchers of this article focused to define the endogenous relationship between unemployment, "transfer payments" and arrests for non-property or property crimes. The researchers involved themselves in this research for over 12 months to analyze the endogenous relationship. From the research, the researchers also managed to derive the hypothesis from a priority theory. Besides, they managed to accumulate data, from the authentic sources in order to support the hypothesis. Though this paper was published in 1980, it is helpful to provide a firsthand experience of the ex-offenders.

This article was written by Clear et al. in CRIME & Delinquency in 2001. In this article, the researchers stated about the problems of removing as well as returning offenders in the community. According to the researchers, from the previous research, it is observed that the characteristics of a “Place” are very important in the context of public safety. From 1973, it is observed that the growth rate of the incarceration or imprisonment with the addition of social disparity in the certain groups of people have a deep impact on the communities experience. Through this article, the researchers examine the spatial impact of imprisonment on the society as well as investigating the problems associated with returning of offenders or removing of offenders from the community. To conduct the research, the researchers used a direct survey method and then the researchers properly analyzed the collected data. In this quantitative research, the researchers included a sample of 39 Tallahassee, Florida, who lived in "two high-incarceration neighborhoods" and included ex-offenders. This paper further provided recommendations for the improvement of the situation and concluded with research priorities.

Research by Clear et al. (2001)

This article was written by Fahey et al. and published in Crime and Justice Institute on October 31, 2006. The researchers showed in their article "employment" serves to fill vital needs in the people's life. For ex-offenders, the role of "employment" is also more vital than others are as it is helpful to make a difference in their life and reestablish them in the normal social lifestyle. However, the researchers also identified the barriers faced by the ex-offenders who are trying to get a job and settle in a new as well as stable lifestyle. This article provides the view points of the employers who are trying to offer jobs to the ex-offenders. To understand their view point CJI (Crime and Justice Institute) conducted research on a group of 28 employers in the Boston. The employers were selected from different industries who hired ex-offenders as well as those who did not. Based on this research, the researchers showed their findings and provided suitable recommendations in order to increase the ex-offenders recruitment. This article further included National Research, Massachusetts Focus Group Findings and the recommendation for further improvement.

This journal was published in ERIC in 1998-March. The researchers of this paper offered job placement program for ex-offenders, which is considered as the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO). According to the researchers, Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) has successfully implemented in New York City since 1992. The researcher emphasized about the CEO program details in this article. According to the researchers, there are six main components of this program agenda, such as (1) a 1 day recruitment plan, (2) life skills course for 4 days, (3) a primary session with the "job developer", (4) 2-3 months program for day-labor in weekly job preparation, (5) job placement and (6) follow-up services for 6 months. The program description is consist of (1) a case study of 3 national-level agencies’ collaboration in the job placement of ex-offenders, (2) presentation of overview of previously “supported-work initiatives”, (3) summarization of the CEO program rules, which were developed to foster the reliability of the participants, (4) summarization of the CEO program’s “selling points” to the employers, (5) showing overview of staffing policies taken by CEO and (6) discussion of the key factors of the CEO program.

Research by Fahey et al. (2006)

This article is written by Giguere & Dundes and published in Criminal Justice Policy Review (CJPR) in 2002. This article is focused on the survey of Employer Concerns about the hiring of Ex-offenders. The researchers stated that most of the employers (53%) in Baltimore showed their willingness to hire ex-offenders. This is described in the hypothetical scenario. From this research, the researchers found that the employers have different concerns while recruiting ex-offenders as their employee. This may include customer’s discomfort after revealing the true identity of the employee. The research data was also helpful to emphasize the willingness of the employees to take the advantages of the program with "subsidized wages." It is also found that the researchers focused on the fear of the employers to be victimized and the result of their relationship with the ex-convicts. From the findings of this research, it can be said that the ex-offenders may be benefited from the programs, which is helpful to enhance the relationship with the employers and people skills, which in turn resulted in dismissing “negative stereotypes” about the population.

This article is published in the Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice in 2005 and written by Harris & Keller. This article is focused on the cheking of criminal background of a person before recruiting him or her in a job. at the beginning, of this research paper, the researchers stated that many legal barriers exist, which hinder ex-offenders to join as a lawful employee. This article is aimed to find out the opportunities and the use of these laws. This is also aimed to reduce the willingness of the employees to engage in workplace crime. The researchers also discussed about other factors such as the risk of offending the customers, criminal background checks, lack of "empirical evidence", which linked with the ex-offenders in the workplace crime. It is found that the availability of the viable alternatives is helpful to underscore the need to scale back the important obstacles to the reentry of the ex-offender. The researchers concluded the article with proper recommendations to introduce the use of risk assessments in the screening laws of employment.

Research on the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO)

This article was published in NCJRS in September 2000 and written by Svenja Heinrich. This article is focused to reduce recidivism through work. In this article, the researchers tried to discuss the opportunities and the barriers faced by the ex-offenders to be get hired in a job after releasing from the imprisonment. The article also presents the strategies, which meet the needs of the employment of the ex-offenders in a better way. The information for this research was gathered from the secondary literature review, and the collected data includes different groups, which involved the ex-offenders. The study was carried out on Chicago Workforce development Partnership Project. This research managed to discover the ex-offenders tried best to find out a suitable job for them; however, there are different factors that can have an impact on their choices, such as their working potentiality and their degree of crime. The barriers to be got employed may include financial obstacles, legal barriers, employee's attitude, education, mental illness and substance abuse. According to the researchers, with the increasing number of ex-offenders, the society need to change their mentality and accept them openly, which in turn will be helpful to reduce the employment barriers.

This article was written by Henry and Jacobs. The essence of this article is to promote the ex-offender employment. According to the researchers, lack of legitimate job promotes the criminality. Therefore, many social reformers, as well as the criminologists, fosters many programs in order to expand opportunities for employment, especially for those people who are marked as ex-offender. In this article, the researchers focused on to prepare strategies that could be proved as helpful in order to make improvement of the capability of the ex-offenders. These strategies include the basic education of the ex-offenders as well as providing them job specific training. The strategies were also helpful to assist them in order to identify the potential employment for them. In the meantime, several strategies were taken to eliminate de facto and de jure “employment discrimination” against the ex-offenders. According to the researchers, many states as well as federal laws were made to help the ex-offenders to achieve employment license. With the help of the employment license, the offenders can even join to different organizations and serve the children, elderly person, and the vulnerable people.

This article was published in eScholarship (University of California) and written by Holzer et al. It is found that the article is aimed to find out the detail procedures or the concerned steps taken by the employers before recruiting an ex-offender in the job. According to the researchers, in this paper, they analyzed the demands of the employers for ex-offenders in order to recruit them for work. To conduct this research the researchers of this paper depended on the qualitative analysis. They collected data from the published papers and the recent surveys conducted by the employers to find out the reason behind the interest of recruiting ex-offenders as their employees. In addition, the researchers also aimed to find out the process or limits of checking criminal backgrounds with the help of mere and imperfect information provided by the ex-offender. They searched the jobs and the firms that correlate with the demand of ex-offenders for their job. they also tried to find out the total stocks as well as the annual flows of the ex-offenders returned to the "civilian population."

This journal was published in the American Business Law Journal in August 2007 and written by Jensen & Gieggold. This article is focused on the finding of jobs for the ex-offenders. According to the researchers, today more than the half population of job seekers spent a little time of their life behind prison walls. Most of these people were arrested based on the false accusation and released soon without criminal charges. However, this record prevents them to offer unblemished work records to the employers and get the right job or the job they desire. This process, in turn, prevents these unsuccessful people to offer support to their family, to achieve self-respect as well as to gain a good position in the society. The researchers found that the managers who are in the responsibilities of recruiting employee were showing their sympathy as well as positive attitude to the ex-offenders. However, it is recognized that these employees (ex-offenders) are still facing problems or invisible barriers to be get selected for their desirable jobs.

This article is published in the Journal of Business Ethics in October 2003 and written by Lam & Harcourt. This article is focused on the use of "Criminal; Records" in the Employment Decisions. In this context, the researchers tried to emphasize the rights of the employers, common people and the ex-offenders. From the literature, review the researchers collected their data and based on the evidence they stated that the employers still discriminate ex-offenders and the regular employees in the labor market. The problem is seemed to be serious to the researchers as it is recognized that a huge part of the population is involved in this matter. However, if it is found that people with prior convictions stopped offending at their early 20s to 30s, then the validity of the criminal records in the field of employee selection may not be that important. In this paper, the authors examine the requirement of legal protection that may be needed by the ex-offe5nders to reduce the access of the employer's access to the information related to their background. In addition, the researchers also discuss the interests of all three parties.

This article was written by Christopher Uggen and published by Oxford University Press in 1999. This article is according to the researcher; from the diverse theoretical background, the criminologists asserted that the "quality of employment" is associated with the criminal behavior. It is found that the criminal behavior is associated with the quality of employment, but the presence or absence does not matter. To influence the offenders to leave their crime and join into the “civilization”, it is important things or elements are “meaningful work” and “good jobs”. It is found that this paper builds a “satisfaction based measure” of job quality. It was prepared with the use of data from the National Supported Work Demonstration. It can be said that quality of employment survey and tests were performed in order to find out that employment of the high quality jobs of the ex-offenders might be able to reduce the criminal behavior of the people. Through the research, it is observed that after employment, non-economic and economic criminal behaviors are reduced rapidly.

Research by Svenja Heinrich (2000)

This book was published in APA PsycNET in 2001 and written by Maruna. This book is aimed to compare and contrast between the ex-convicts who are still involving actively after serving their prison time and those ex-convicts who are trying to clear their criminal record and get "civilized". After conducting a deep study of the subject, the author stated that there are two types of personal narratives, such as "condemnation," which is followed by the offenders who are still active and another one is "generative," this script is followed by the disasters. These two scripts are prepared in such a way that can be proved as helpful and then it was examined in the point of view of psychological and criminological thoughts. From this research, the results were collected. Based on the result it can be suggested that the success of the reform of the ex-offenders is dependent on providing rehabilitative opportunities, which in turn is helpful to reinforce the "generative script."

This research paper was published in ERIC in 2000 and written by Buck. From the research paper, it is found that results of earlier "ex-offenders program" were very disappointing, which states that “nothing works so let's just keep prisoners incarcerated longer". From the researches of the 1980s and 1990s, the researchers found that the huge amount of post-released employment programs, as well as the pre-release employment training and the support, is proved as helpful to reduce the rate of recidivism. The current initiatives composed of those conducted by NGOs and sometimes funded by the OCJTP (Office of Correctional Job Training and Placement). According to the researchers there are different programs are consist of different characteristics, such as- (1) the participants of the program largely belong to the minority males, who lack proper education; (2) the programs are conducted with the collaboration of local criminal justice system; (3) the ex-offenders need to have proper relationship with the employers; (4) the ex-offenders need to be helped with the availability of the jobs; (5) the post-placement of the services should be strong etc.

This paper was published in 2003. The writers of this paper are Holzer et al. According to the researchers more than 600,000 people are released from the prison every year. They found that most of them were having trouble to achieve their pass in the labor market. According to their research, the earning status of the ex-offenders is very low. In this article, the authors conducted a secondary research about the present condition of the ex-offenders after releasing from the prison. The authors discussed in details about the employment opportunities and the earnings of the ex-offenders. In addition, they also managed to define different types of barriers that could be faced by them while taking entry in the labor market as well as reestablishing in society. The barriers may include supply-side barriers and demand-side barriers. However, the researchers not only discussed the possible barriers but also managed to find out some "potentially positive factors," which may be proved as helpful to reestablish the ex-offenders in the society after releasing from the imprisonment.

Conclusion

This report was published in 1981. The name of the authors is Piliavin & Gartner. This report is aimed to find out the impact of the National Supported Work Demonstration program on the ex-criminal offenders. The impact should be measured based on different criteria such as drug use, arrests, training experience, unearned income, and employment. TO conduct this research. Initially 2300 persons were selected from 7 popular cities of the United States. Half of the selected population was assigned randomly in the experiment while the others were treated and assigned as “control sample” by the researchers. All of the sample members of the experiments were called for the follow-ups after 18 months of their entry in the experiment. According to the researchers, 68% of the population was as ked to come for interviews after 27 months, while 22% population was called after 36 months after their enrollment. The researchers offered wages for the participants who will come for the interview when they are asked and update the researchers about their current condition. From the result, the researchers found that most of the positive changes were observed in the early stages of the experiment; however, the conditions deteriorated with the time.

This article was published in eScolarship (The University of California) in 2002. The name of the researchers are Holzer et al. in this paper the researchers analyzed the demand of the ex-offenders as an employee in the labor market. The researchers collected their data from the current surveys made by othe researchers on the present employment condition of the ex-offenders. The accumulated data were used by the researcher in order to analyze the preferences of ex-offenders as an employee. The researchers also tried to emphasize the extent to which the employers can manage to check the criminal background depending on the very “imperfect information” about the job seekers, whom they consider. The researchers of this paper were aimed to determine the characteristics of the firms or industries that correlate with the demands of the employers. In addition, they also focused to find out the changes in the ex-offender recruitment facilities due to the tighter conditions of the labor market.

This research paper was first published in the Public Administration (PA) in 2001. The researcher of this paper Del Roy Fletcher aimed to find out the relationship between the labor market, ex-offenders, and the new public administration. It is found from this research article that the policy makers recognize for their active helping attitude I  order to help ex-offenders into reestablishment in the society and employment. In this article, the author also gave an outline of the problems or the disadvantages faced by the ex-offenders in the labor market for their criminal records. The researcher also tried to asses different approaches in order to meet the requirements of the ex-offenders who are seeking jobs. It is observed that though the policies regarding the ex-offenders are changed recently, it is noticed that the British public administration still undermining the capability of the practitioners to react in an appropriate manner to meet the requirements of the ex-offenders. The researcher concluded this article showing the concern of the policy makers to exhibit that they are performing something good for the society in the context of social behaviors of the criminals.

This article was published in The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice in 1997. The writer of this article is Martin Gill. In this article, Martin Gill tried to discuss elaborately the problems or barriers faced by the ex-offenders while reestablishing in their social life after releasing from the prison. This article is beneficial as the data collected in this paper are based on the direct interviews. The interviews were taken in the last six months of their imprisonment. The researcher also interviewed the employers, who have sufficient experience to recruit the ex-offenders in the jobs as well as the other specialists, which may include employment officers as well as the probation officers. From the collected data, the researcher interpreted that the job seeking of the ex-offenders can get little help and very little hope. On the other hand, it is found that both the ex-offenders as well as the employers do not care about the opportunities and risks exist in this context. However, the ignorance of risk factors by the employers can proved as positive for the ex-offenders who are seeking work.

This journal article was published in Journal of Counseling Psychology in 2007. The authors of this journal article are Shivy et al. A quantitative analysis was performed by the researchers to analyze the impact of reentering of the ex-offenders in the workforce. It is found that more than 650,000 prisoners are going to be released from the prison from the state and federal prisons, this year. However, it is found that there is a lack of knowledge about the challenges or problems will be encountered by the ex-offenders while reestablishing in the society. In this research context data were collected by the researchers from two distinct groups, which are a group of mail (n=6) and a group of female (n=9). The researchers used consensual qualitative method in order to analyze the collected data. The attendees discussed with the researchers about the reentry of the prisoners and 11 possible domains were discovered that are significant to indicate the practical assistance, training and education of the prisoners.

This article was published in May, 2003. The writer of the article is Richard Freeman. This book is focused on the “recidivism vs. employment of Ex-offenders in the United States”. According to the writer, after serving sentence period in the prison, there are two types of changes can be observed while they try to “fit in” the society. It is found that incarceration can either have a positive effect, which is to drive the ex-offenders mind away from the crime and help him to re-enter in the society or indulge them to be get involved in more heavily weigh crimes. According to the collected data on recidivism, two third of the ex-offenders got re-arrested within three years of their release from the prison in the United State. For most of the prisoners in the United states the prison door is a “revolving one”. In this book, the writer discussed about the increasing population of ex-offenders in the United States with significant evidence. This book is helpful to follow up the recidivism and the re-enter of the ex-offenders in the society.

This article was first published in The Journal of Labor & Society in March 2011. The writers of this article are John Schmitt and Kris Warner. According to the researchers, in 2008 the United States have more than 14 million of ex-offenders who are seeking job. as most of the ex-offenders faced difficulties to reenter into a job because of their prison record, the researchers estimated that total male employment rate in the United States is increased from 1.5 to 1.7 in 2008. From their research, they showed that one out of 17 adult men is an ex-prisoner and trying to work in an honest way. It is also found that one out of 8 men are ex-felon. The researchers also managed to show that because of the ex-offenders the United States lost 1.5 to 1.7 million workers, which had a serious impact on their economy. The increasing rate of ex-offenders in the society is clearly indicating the draconian changes in the criminal justice system of the United States. The sentence for drug trafficking and other drug related crimes increased dramatically.

This research paper was published in Crime & Delinquency in 1976. The writer of this research paper is Mitchell W. Dale. This paper is focused on the barriers or the hindrance faced by the ex-offenders while going through rehabilitation. According to the researchers, the identity of a person is tied with his occupation. Jobs determine the quality of life lead by a person. According to the researchers, full employment can change the behavior of the ex-offenders. However, it is found that most of the ex-offenders are facing trouble to get into jobs. In this research paper, the researchers showed that the community showed their sympathy for the ex-offenders but help little to provide “a second chance”. The employers do not like to hire the ex-offenders because of the threat of insecurity. On the other hand, there is another chance that the customers’ reaction after revealing the identity of the employee. This paper is discussed about the legal barriers to the reestablishing of the ex-offenders in the labor market. In addition, the researchers also aimed to find out the perspective of the employers while hiring the ex-offenders in work.

This journal was published in American Sociological Review, in 2000. The writer of this article is Christopher Uggen. This research paper is aimed to follow the life course of the Criminals, which may include the age, model and Recidivism. It is found that the sociologists use the word “turning points” to emphasize the behavioral changes of the people over their life. The researcher explained that the “work” or “employment” could be considered as the turning point of the lives of the ex-offenders. If criminals are provided with proper jobs that can involve them into work and drive their mind away from the crime. The prior research on this context was inconclusive as the researchers found that the work effects could be biased by the age of the employee and availability of jobs.  In the current study model the researcher included participants in the “national work experiment for criminal offenders”, however, he tried to avoid bias that can have impact on the result. The researcher found that ex-offenders, aged 27 or more showed less interest in the crime while having a proper job.

This research paper was published in Corrections Management Quarterly in 2001. The writer of this article is Christopher Uggen and Jeremy Staff. This article is aimed to find out the effect of “work or employment” in the life of ex-offenders. It is found that the researchers of this article tried to find out whether employment or work consider as turning point in the life of a criminal offender. In this paper, the researchers tried to provide a brief overview about the research on the close bonding of the criminal mind and the employment. To discover the truth, the researchers followed qualitative data analysis. From the research, it is found that the availability of the employment showed a positive effect on the “adult offenders” than the young adults and adolescents. On trhe other hand, the quality of the employment seems to have a positive as well as a negative effect on the lifestyle of an ex-offender. However, the researchers failed to find out proper evidence to support this statement. The researchers managed to conclude with different “unanswered questions” and directions for further research.

 This research article was first published in Corrections Today, 2005. The writer of this article is Petersilia. It is found that this research paper is aimed to find out the problems or barriers faced by the ex-offenders when they returned in their home after serving the sentence period in the prison. According to the researcher, this article is aimed to offer a better overview about the barriers put by the society to reintegration as well as the risks and needs associated with the rehabilitation of the ex-offenders in the society. The societies of the United States are facing problems as well as challenges in managing the rehabilitation of the ex-offenders. Therefore, according to the researcher the society need to develop a stronger response to these emerging challenges. To find out better response, the corrections professionals need to understand the characteristics of the ex-offenders who are trying to get “fit in” the society. The article is proved as helpful as several issues are identified by the researcher, such as 1) identifying the ex-offenders who are coming home, 2) find out employment restrictions and 3) reformation of the parole.

This paper was first published in 2003. The writers of this book are Holzer et al. In this paper the researchers aimed to analyze the demands of the ex-offenders for the employment in Los Angeles. The researchers collected data from the survey, which was conducted in Los Angeles. 2001. The researchers assess not only statements of the employers that they are looking forward to hire the ex-employers but also the implication of the practice. It is found from the research that the level of the willingness showed by the employers does not match with their actual rate of hiring, which is very limited. However, it is also found that the deviation varies depending on the nature of the crime committed by the ex-offenders. The research showed that the employers showed lesser interest to recruit those who are charged with violent crime or murder than the ex-offenders who served sentence for drug trafficking or such minor crime. The work experience possess by the ex-offenders also have effect too attract the attention of the employers.

This research paper was published by Institute for Research on Poverty in 2007. The writers of this article are Michael A. Stoll and Shwan D. Bushway. It is found that this research paper is aimed to find out the necessity of checking criminal background of the ex-offenders before recruiting them in the work. The researchers stated that the increasing incarceration rate in the past few years is obviously rising the question about their reestablishment in social life after serving their imprisonment. Employment considered as an important factor to reintegrate them into the society. From researches, it is observed that employment helped ex-offenders who are aged 27 or more to draw their attention away from the crime. On the other hand, the researchers showed the challenges faced by the ex-offenders to be recruited in the job. The state policies especially “ban the box” policy is limiting the access of criminal records of an ex-offender by an employer, which is not always desirable. This paper helped to explore the question with the help of data collected in Los Angeles in 2001.

This book was published in 1981 and sponsored by Ford Foundation and others. The writers of this book are Kemper et al. This report exhibits the results of cost-benefit result of the “National Supported Work Demonstration”, which is work experience program for the ex-offenders who do not have jobs for a long time. This program is helpful to provide temporary employment to the job seekers who lacked proper job training. The standards of work increased gradually and the participants were encouraged with sufficient bonus. The experiment was performed in 15 different sites where the samples were divided into random groups such as control or program group. The researchers took interviews. Through this experiment, the long term benefits of the AFDC participants was more than $8000. The benefits of the ex-addict participants were more than $4000. However, the researchers showed that the supported work for the young people was not much helpful. Per youth participants long term social benefits were calculated as $1500. However, the results for the ex-offenders are incomplete.

This article was published in Criminology. The writers of this article are Paul J. Hirchfield and Alex R. Piquero. From this research, it is found that the attitude of the prisoners is very important to reenter into the society and get a job. according to the theories of “social stigma” it can be suggested that the attitude or the behaviors of the ex-offenders is dependent on the familiarity of the stigmatized groups as well as the trust and credibility gained by them to the sanctioning agents. The researchers emphasized two thesis such as the legitimation thesis and the normalization thesis. In order to assess the hypothesis the researchers present multivariate analysis of “public attitude” towards the ex-criminals. The data was collected by the reaserchers from random digit telephone survey from four states on 2000 individuals. The research result indicates that the personal familiarity, net of controls are helpful to soften the attitude of the ex-offenders while the environment of the court and prison harden their attitude.

This research was published in the year of 1997 in Corrections Management Quarterly Vol 1. The writer of this article are William G. Saylor and Gerald G. Gaes.  In this research, the researchers used quantitative data analysis. The research was conducted on the 7,000 offenders. The samples were selected in order to assess the impact of the apprenticeship and vocational training as well as industrial work experiences. The researchers showed that the previous research “prison training outcomes” failed to establish the training effects. From the related researches, it is found that the ex-offenders faced most of the difficulties to seek employment. To evaluate the effects of the training on the ex-offenders, the researchers developed a huge sample for their training program. On the other hand, the researchers tried to maintain the data unbiased, in this context they use a “statistical matching procedure”, which is helpful to manage to model the selection process of the training program. The researchers did not assign the inmates in a random manner for research purpose, which was also proved as beneficial in the research procedure.

This paper was published in Clinical Social Work Journal in 2006. The writer of this article is Thomas K. Kenemore. This research paper was prepared based on the qualitative study about the experiences of ex-offenders. From the research, it is found that release from the prison and the incarceration developed a set of challenging experiences for the ex-offenders and their families who are seeking help with psychological, emotional and social problems. In this paper, the researcher posed a broad question, which is “what is the experience of ex-offenders?” according to the researcher, the ex-offenders need to be provided witrh provision of effective treatment sevices. The offenders first required to know or find out as well as understood in detail about the complexities and the problems faced by them. The self-evaluation is always needed. The researcher performed intensive study about the 12 subjects and the result or outcome signifies their unique experience of internal as well as external challenges. In this research paper, the researcher discussed about the practice implications with the target to help clinicians in order to serve and understand this vulnerable and undeserved population in an effective way.

This paper is included in developments in social work with offenders. This chapter was written by  Fergus McNeil and Shadd Maruna, in 2007. In this chapter, the writers stated that criminality could be occurred to the social practitioners as frustrating “intractable pattern of behavior” in the behavior of the individual people. From researches it is found that the young people can easily get addicted to drugs and get involved into the drug trafficking, which is not expected. However, the research also suggests that a large number of young people are trying to be “straight” after serving their sentences. The researchers tried to find out ways such as social interactions and organizing cultural programs in order to interact with the ex-offenders more and help them in rehabilitation. It is also found that the government is trying to help the ex-offenders by providing them job opportunities. However, it is found that the help received from the government is not enough to help the ex-offenders as the numbers of the ex-offenders are increasing day by day.

This article was published in National Bureau of Economic Research in 2009. The writer of this article is Keith Finlay.  This paper is aimed to find out the possible outcomes of the effect of employers access to the criminal history of a criminal offender on the worker market. From the research it is found that more than 5.6 million U.S adults had served sentences in the state as well as at the federal prison in 2001, which include 1.3 million of adults and 4.3 million former prison. It is also observed that in each year more than half million are releasing from the federal and state jails, who are seeking works. In this context, most of the employers try to dig as much as possible to reveal the crimes committed by the considerable employees. This is necessary as the employers do not feel secure in the presence of prisoners in their shops or in firms. Therefore, the employers access the criminal history of the ex-offenders and consider them based on their severity of offends.

This article was published in the Probation journal in 2007. The writers of this article are Sesha Kethineni and David N. Falcone. This article is aimed to find out the effects of extra legal and legal factors on the employment of the ex-offenders in the United States. The researchers showed that one of the main issue experiencing by the US correctional systems is “recidivism among male offenders”. According to the researchers, many prior researches suggest that there is a link between unemployment during the post-incarceration period; however, it is found that most of the researchers consider employment as the turning point of the lives of the ex-offenders. Some of the researchers argued that unemployment is a major risk factor for the society. To address this problem the researchers examined different factors such as social pathologies and cultural factors, rates of incarceration, imprisonment affecting the capability of the ex-offenders to achieve the jobs. In addition the researchers also discussed about the post-prison stigma, legal barriers to be get employed and ex-offender’s concerns about the employment.

This research paper was published in UCLA L in 2007. The writer of this article is Kristen A. Williams. This research paper is focused on the employment of the employment Ex-offenders by the employers. From the research, it is found that employers do not like to hire the ex-offenders as soon as they approach to the employers. Before hiring the ex-offenders, the employers need to consider about the potential workplace violence or the training capability of the ex-offenders. According to the researchers, the employers do not have many tools to assess the risk of recruiting ex-offenders in the workshop or in an industry. The fear of the employer regarding the recruitment of the ex-offenders leads to the availability of the fewer jobs for the ex-offenders in the labor market. According to the researcher of this paper, it is found that the correction departments currently trying to assess the risk factors associated with the recruitment of the ex-offenders in a work place. This article proved as helpful to provide an overall outline of the employment of the ex-offenders.

This article was first published in The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice in 2009. The researcher of this article aimed to find out the steps to transform ex-offenders into non-offenders. It is observed that the researchers of this article tried to assess the present condition of the ex-offenders in the society. The reaserchers present a question prior to the articles, that is “When can ex-offenders with no further convictions be considered as exhibiting the same risk of reconviction as non-offenders?” To find out the answer, the researchers performed a qualitative analysis. From the research, it is revealed that this issue is relevant with the disclosure as well as the retention of the criminal records. To conduct this study the researchers focused on the England and Wales and contacted with the groups, which have members of ex-offenders. Primarily the researchers tried to contact with the members aged between 17-21 who were convicted for the juvenile crime. The researchers showed that theses members eventually get membership of the non-offending group and completely shifted their mentality from the crime. The researchers also considered about the practical implications of their findings.

The research article was first published in the year of 2001. The author of the article is Debbie Mukamal. The main topic of this article is regarding the strategies for the public assistance agencies for the cause of improving the employment opportunities for the ex-offenders. It is observed that there is a huge number of criminal cases registered regarding drug offenses or property offenses. Due to criminal history, the ex offenders a great mount of struggle in case of employment. In some cases they are also a victim of mental and physical problems as well. With respect to this fact, it is important the state acts upon such incidents and provide employment options to such offenders. This will also limit the probability of reoffending. If these offenders are incorporated into employment, it will also boost the economic growth of the country as well. The article mainly emphasizes on the legal and social barriers which limit them from employment. The article also provides information regarding strategies which will help to increase the employment of the ex offenders. The main aspect with respect to these fact can be highlighted as the helping the offenders to clean their medical records along with identifying the job options who will hire such candidates.

This article is published in Law & Policy in 2008. The researchers of this article are Karol Lucken and Lucille M. Ponte. This research article is aimed to find out the effect of providing license to the ex-offenders to join in the workforce. According to the researchers, more than 600,000 ex-offenders rejoin in the society in each year. However, there is very little facility to help their transition from the prison to the society. The reentry of the ex-offenders into the society is now a topic of concern as many policies prevent the joining of the ex-offenders in the workforce. Most of the employers showed their concern about the “not so good moral” character of the job seekers. It is observed that several states of the country are reconsidering the implications of the prohibitions. However, the program is lacking a clear framework to assess the validity of the “exclusionary occupational mandates”. Therefore, this article seemed to be helpful to get the overview of the current position of the ex-offenders.

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