NCJ Number
89474
Date Published
1981
Length
109 pages
Annotation
Both State employment security commissions and State revenue departments provide valuable information pertinent to the measurement of releasee employment success, but self-report telephone interviews with releasees appear only useful as a first step in obtaining postrelease data.
Abstract
The sample of releasees upon which this study was based was drawn from the control and experimental populations used in the evaluation of a model of imprisonment implemented at Butner Federal Correctional Institution, Butner, N.C. Investigation of all aspects of labor market success is essential in the analysis of postrelease labor market performance. It is important to consider various aspects, since one of the difficulties facing releasees is their inability to move from the secondary labor market to the primary market. The secondary labor market is characterized by high unemployment, underemployment, low wages, and limited advancement opportunities. This study determined the degree of success of correctional programs by analyzing the labor market behavior of releasees through data available from employment security commissions related to work stability, extent of employment, and income for the most recent four or five quarters. Data from revenue departments provides the information necessary to analyze income throughout the postrelease period. The feasibility of conducting postrelease followup telephone interviews was determined by the rate of location of releasees and interview completion rate. About 75 percent of the 200 subjects involved could not be reached by telephone. Still, the information provided by self-reports, which cannot be obtained in any other manner, is valuable, but it must involve better methods for locating releasees, perhaps through probation offices and supplementary field work to locate and interview releasees. Material on the study methodology is appended, and 20 bibliographic entries are provided.