NCJ Number
213667
Date Published
February 2006
Length
33 pages
Annotation
This report presents early promising practices developed by 11 Ready4Work programs for adult former prisoners.
Abstract
Promising practices are presented in the domains of recruiting; case management; mentoring; and job training, placement, and followup. Successful Ready4Work programs recommend that participants for the program be recruited both pre-and postrelease. Promising practices for prerelease recruitment include establishing formal partnerships with the local Department of Corrections while postrelease recruitment practices include using newspaper advertisements and other media for broad outreach. Promising practices for case management involve developing clear definitions of case managers' roles and responsibilities and identifying the personal qualities of participants, not just their past work credentials. All Ready4Work programs have implemented a mentoring component and have recommended promising practices for mentoring, such as hiring a mentoring coordinator, training mentors in relationship building and other related skills, and addressing the barriers that can hinder participants' involvement with mentoring. In terms of job training, placement, and followup, Ready4Work programs recommend the development of partnerships that can provide a range of education and job training opportunities for participants. It is also recommended that programs hire an experienced staff member whose role is to recruit employers. The Ready4Work initiative focuses on two primary and interrelated goals: (1) improving participants' chances of forming long-term attachments to the labor market, and (2) reducing recidivism for participants in the initiative. The initiative currently has 17 sites, 6 of which focus on juveniles who have been released from detention. Tables, endnotes