Integrated Reentry & Employment Strategies: Pilot Project Process Evaluation Report

• NCJ Number: 254544
• Date Published: October 2019
• Length: 42 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2016-MU-BX-K011
• Agencies: BJA-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Technical Assistance); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Evaluation; Program/Project Description

Annotation

This report presents findings of an evaluation of the implementation of strategies for integrating reentry and employment strategies intended to improve recidivism and job readiness for persons returning to two communities after incarceration.

Abstract

Beginning in 2015, a team of researchers and policy analysts from The Council of State Governments (CSG) led the effort to pilot the Integrated Reentry and Employment Strategies (IRES) framework in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin and Palm Beach County, Florida. The aim of the IRES model is to connect people leaving incarceration to the right reentry and employment services at the right intensity at the right time to reduce their chance of recidivating and improving employment readiness. From October 2017 to March 2018, CSG Justice Center staff evaluated the sites' reentry coordination and service delivery efforts for 521 people assessed to participate in the pilot study. The aims of this process evaluation were to determine whether the pilot sites implemented the resource allocation and service matching tool described in the framework; to determine whether a coordinated process existed between the corrections and workforce development systems; and to provide recommendations for how existing resources and new procedures can be used to promote the IRES framework among all the relevant partners systems-wide. The evaluation's findings indicate that the pilot sites have experienced both challenges and successes in aligning with the four main areas that CSG Justice Center staff identified as fundamental to implementing a collaborative and coordinated approach to reentry planning. These areas are leadership commitment, timely use of assessments, detailed process analysis, capacity to meet the population needs, and data tracking. Generally, the pilot sites were effective in ensuring the resource- allocation and service-matching tool used after release; however, they need to improve their efforts in assessing levels of job readiness and providing the appropriate employment-related services before release.