Labor Force Participation and Crime among Serious and Violent Former Prisoners
type: CreativeWork
description: This project examines the relationship between work and crime among male former prisoners. Criminological theories and observational studies suggest that work reduces crime, but recent studies cast doubt on the ability of employment programs to reduce recidivism among former prisoners. Ongoing weak evaluations may imperil support for employment-focused rehabilitative programming. Using data from the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (n = 1,575), this study examines whether selection bias and unobserved heterogeneity contribute to weak evaluation findings.First, this study tests whether unobserved heterogeneity contributes to jobs programs' weak treatment effects. It uses group-based trajectory modeling and propensity score methods to balance participants and nonparticipants on demographic and criminal risk factors. Lifetime arrest data from administrative records are used to model respondents' prior offending trajectories. Baseline interview data are used to balance respondents on the propensity to receive employment-focused services. After balancing respondents, this study employs duration models to test the effects of educational and employment programming on time to rearrest.Second, this study tests whether financial problems mediate the work-crime relationship. Longitudinal structural equation modeling is used to model men's labor force attachment, job quality, financial needs, and emotional wellbeing. Models test whether financial problems diminish the crime-reducing effects of employment for men who remain weakly attached to the labor force. Multiple indicators for each latent construct reduce bias due to measurement error.Results of this study show that education and employment programs in United States prisons have limited effects on the likelihood that participants maintain employment and avoid criminal justice involvement. Male prisoners recruited into the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative faced multiple barriers to employment b…
abstract: This project examines the relationship between work and crime among male former prisoners. Criminological theories and observational studies suggest that work reduces crime, but recent studies cast doubt on the ability of employment programs to reduce recidivism among former prisoners. Ongoing weak evaluations may imperil support for employment-focused rehabilitative programming. Using data from the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (n = 1,575), this study examines whether selection bias and unobserved heterogeneity contribute to weak evaluation findings.First, this study tests whether unobserved heterogeneity contributes to jobs programs' weak treatment effects. It uses group-based trajectory modeling and propensity score methods to balance participants and nonparticipants on demographic and criminal risk factors. Lifetime arrest data from administrative records are used to model respondents' prior offending trajectories. Baseline interview data are used to balance respondents on the propensity to receive employment-focused services. After balancing respondents, this study employs duration models to test the effects of educational and employment programming on time to rearrest.Second, this study tests whether financial problems mediate the work-crime relationship. Longitudinal structural equation modeling is used to model men's labor force attachment, job quality, financial needs, and emotional wellbeing. Models test whether financial problems diminish the crime-reducing effects of employment for men who remain weakly attached to the labor force. Multiple indicators for each latent construct reduce bias due to measurement error.Results of this study show that education and employment programs in United States prisons have limited effects on the likelihood that participants maintain employment and avoid criminal justice involvement. Male prisoners recruited into the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative faced multiple barriers to employment b…
author: Wikoff, Nora Ellen
language: English (en)
keywords: correctional education, employment programming, former prisoners, job quality, labor force participation, recidivism, Social Work
date published: 2015-05-15T07:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T06:12:08Z
provider: Washington University in St. Louis
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Washington University in St. Louis

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.7936/K7513WCZ