NCJ Number
62703
Date Published
1979
Length
54 pages
Annotation
THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS EVALUATED THE BENEFITS OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR INMATES BY EXAMINING THE JOB HISTORIES OF PAROLEES WITH VOCATIONAL CERTIFICATES.
Abstract
ALTHOUGH VOCATIONAL PROGRAMS ARE VIEWED AS IMPORTANT IN REINTEGRATING THE INMATE INTO SOCIETY, METHODS FOR EVALUATING THEIR IMPACT HAVE NOT BEEN DEVELOPED. FACTORS ANALYZED TO DETERMINE THE MARKETABILITY OF SKILLS LEARNED IN PRISON PROGRAMS WERE RATE OF EMPLOYMENT OF VOCATIONALLY CERTIFIED INMATES COMPARED TO NONCERTIFIED INMATES, ABILITY OF CERTIFIED INMATES TO FIND WORK IN THEIR AREA OF TRAINING, PARITY OF WAGES EARNED WITH ENTRY LEVELS WAGES FOR THE SAME JOB TYPE, AND SKILL LEVEL REQUIRED FOR THE JOB OBTAINED. DATA WERE GATHERED FROM PAROLE PROGRESS REPORTS SUBMITTED FOR EVERY INMATE FOR A 12-MONTH PERIOD. INFORMATION ON UNEMPLOYMENT WAS OBTAINED FROM STATE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES. VARIABLES SUCH AS EMPLOYER DISCRIMINATION AND LOCAL EMPLOYMENT LEVELS WERE NOT EVALUATED, AND THE SAMPLE SIZE WAS RELATIVELY SMALL IN RELATION TO THE NUMBER OF INMATES CURRENTLY RECEIVING VOCATIONAL CERTIFICATES. THE FOLLOWING RESULTS INDICATED THAT THE VOCATIONAL PROGRAM WAS EFFECTIVE. THE EMPLOYMENT RATE FOR PAROLEES WITH CERTIFICATES WAS 75 PERCENT COMPARED TO 70 PERCENT FOR NONCERTIFIED INMATES, AND THE ENTRY WAGE FOR CERTIFIED PAROLEES WAS CONSIDERABLY BETTER. APPROXIMATELY 63 PERCENT OF CERTIFIED PAROLEES STUDIED HAD A SKILL LEVEL ABOVE UNSKILLED, AND 30 PERCENT WERE EMPLOYED IN THE GENERAL AREA OF THEIR TRAINING. THE REPORT RECOMMENDED THAT FUTURE STUDIES INCLUDE DATA ON EMPLOYMENT PRIOR TO INCARCERATION AND EXAMINE THE SELECTION AND PLACEMENT COMPONENTS OF THE VOCATIONAL PROGRAM. PROCEDURES TO IMPROVE THE COLLECTION OF DATA WERE ALSO SUGGESTED. TABLES AND AN EVALUATION LOGIC DIAGRAM ARE PROVIDED. APPENDIXES CONTAIN DATA COLLECTION FORMS AND AN UPDATE OF WAGE DATA USED IN THE ANALYSIS. A SHORT LIST OF REFERENCES IS INCLUDED. (MJM)