NEW JERSEY - DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAMS TO IMPROVE ASSISTANCE TO ADULT OFFENDERS RELEASED TO THE COMMUNITY

• NCJ Number: 66287
• Author(s): ANON
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 27 pages
• Grant Number(s): 78-NI-AX-0004
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: New Jersey State Law Enforcement Planning Agency
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS REPORT EVALUATES FOUR NEW JERSEY VOCATIONAL SERVICE CENTERS RESPONSIBLE FOR AIDING CRIMINAL OFFENDERS RELEASED TO THE COMMUNITIES.

Abstract

THE CENTERS WERE FUNDED BY THE NEW JERSEY STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT PLANNING AGENCY. THEIR MAIN GOALS ARE TO ENABLE THEIR CLIENTS TO SECURE AND SUSTAIN EMPLOYMENT AND TO AVOID RECIDIVISM. TO EVALUATE THE CENTERS, A RANDOM SAMPLE OF CLIENT CASE RECORDS FROM EACH CENTER WAS ANALYZED. RESULTS SHOWED THAT 43 PERCENT OF THE CLIENTS HAD FOUND JOBS ON THE DAY THE CASE FILES WERE EXAMINED. OF THOSE FINDING JOBS, 28 PERCENT FOUND JOBS WITHIN 28 DAYS OF INTAKE, WHILE 25 PERCENT FOUND JOBS AT LEAST 121 DAYS AFTER INTAKE. MOREOVER, ONLY 42 PERCENT OF THOSE FINDING JOBS WERE DIRECTLY PLACED BY A CENTER, ALTHOUGH THE CENTERS PROBABLY AIDED MANY OF THOSE WHO FOUND JOBS ON THEIR OWN. CLIENTS' PRIOR CRIMINAL CONDUCT WAS OFTEN SEVERE AND CHRONIC. ALMOST HALF HAD BEEN ARRESTED AT LEAST THREE TIMES; 36 PERCENT HAD BEEN CONVICTED THREE TIMES OR MORE. OF THE 57 CLIENTS CONTACTED LESS THAN 29 DAYS AFTER INTAKE, 18 PERCENT HAD BEEN ARRESTED, WHILE 24 PERCENT OF THE 97 CONTACTED OVER A YEAR AFTER INTAKE HAD BEEN ARRESTED. THOSE WHO FOUND EMPLOYMENT AND THOSE WHO DID NOT WERE EQUALLY LIKELY TO HAVE BEEN ARRESTED. SERVICES MOST FREQUENTLY PROVIDED BY THE CENTERS WERE JOB COUNSELING, PREPARING JOB APPLICATIONS, ARRANGING INTERVIEWS, APPEARANCE COUNSELING, AND EMPLOYMENT-ORIENTED ROLE PLAYING. SUPPORTIVE SERVICES INCLUDED REFERRAL TO ALCOHOL TREATMENT PROGRAMS AND HELP IN OBTAINING DRIVER'S LICENSES, WELFARE, FOOD STAMPS, AND MEDICAL AND DENTAL TREATMENT. PLACEMENT SERVICES FOR EDUCATIONAL AND OTHER PROGRAMS WERE ALSO PROVIDED. RESULTS INDICATED THAT THE FAILURE TO HELP MANY CLIENTS REFLECTED THE SEVERITY AND COMPLEXITY OF THEIR PROBLEMS RATHER THAN THE CENTERS' FAILINGS. VOCATIONAL SERVICE CENTERS SHOULD BE MORE ACTIVE IN MAKING PERSONAL APPEALS TO POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS AND SHOULD PROVIDE CLOSER SUPERVISION AFTER JOB PLACEMENT. INNOVATION EXPERIMENTATION SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED. ONE FOOTNOTE AND APPENDIXES PRESENTING EXTENSIVE TABLES AND THE DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS ARE INCLUDED. (CFW)