NCJ Number
85768
Date Published
1982
Length
61 pages
Annotation
Black offenders who are on probation and/or parole in the City and County of Atlanta, Ga., are discriminated against in seeking employment because of their prison record and because of their race.
Abstract
The study included 52 parolees and 30 probationers. The offenders were primarily young black males who were generally uneducated, were single, and had a spotty employment record. A total of 90 percent of the probationers had no previous incarceration, while 15 percent of the parolees had been previously incarcerated. The parolee population had an average of 10.4 years of education. General Education Development (GED) programs were available within institutions for 60 percent of the parolee population. A total of 83 percent of the parolees indicated employment prior to incarceration, mostly in unskilled or semiskilled jobs. Within the prison, prisoners did not learn skills which could be used in the outside community. A total of 50 percent of the probationers indicated that they did not make enough to meet their financial needs, while 78 percent of the parolees perceived that employers would not hire them because of their offender status. A total of 43 percent of the probationers saw whites as having an easier time than blacks in finding employment. The Department of Employment should place a full-time person at each prison diagnostic center to assist the classification team in planning the best vocational training program for the inmate so that upon release that inmate is assured of having obtained the best training for future job placement. The Department of Employment also should establish a special unit within each jurisdiction to work only with job placement of ex-offenders. Other recommendations, tables, study instruments, and over 30 references are given. (Author summary modified)