NCJ Number
76008
Date Published
1981
Length
16 pages
Annotation
Successful job development and placement strategies on behalf of ex-addicts, ex-offenders, and female welfare clients are illustrated through a description of the work of a single job developer of the nonprofit Peralta Services Corporation in Oakland, Calif.
Abstract
The National Supported Work Study, which included the programs of the Peralta Services Corporation, was initiated in 1975 to test at 15 sites whether 12 to 18 months of employment in a supportive but performance-oriented environment would equip the hard-to-employ person to get and hold normal unsubsidized jobs. The target groups included ex-addicts, ex-offenders, women who had been long-term recipients of welfare benefits, and young school dropouts. To be eligible for the program, ex-addicts were required to be currently in treatment or to have been in treatment within the last 6 months. Through the resourcefulness of one job developer, examples are provided of how potential employers can be identified and approached, how contact should be maintained, when to be persistent and when to abandon efforts to secure job commitments from an employer, and how to prepare clients for job interviews. The supported work provided graduated stress and close supervision, peer support, salaries at or slightly above the minimum wage, and a disciplined work environment. Workers were promoted, suspended, or terminated on the basis of performance. The program also helped them find regular employment. Of the 87 Peralta clients who graduated during the period studied 82 secured regular employment with an average starting salary of $5.12 per hour. A descriptive narrative of the job developer's activities emphasized his ability to sell the Peralta program to prospective employers and his ability to orient hard-to-employ persons to secure a job and build good work habits in this job development classes. An appendix displays data on successful placements by Peralta Services Corporation in the Oakland area.