EMPLOYMENT REDUCES RECIDIVISM

When Mike was incarcerated, he often thought about life on the “outside” after his release.  What would it be like?  It sure couldn’t be what he’d experienced before—the mean streets, the wrong people—all that had to be left behind, but how to do it?  After his release, Mike was lured by the usual demons and struggled through many frustrations as he tried to figure things out.  He sought assistance at the McKees Rocks Employment & Training Center (ETC) and ultimately found a job with their help.  Six months later he landed an even better job with a lead from the ETC.  Mike’s story illustrates how meaningful employment can help to keep ex-offenders from going back to jail.

The dismal statistics on recidivism in the U.S. (as high as 78%, depending on the offense) are due in great measure to young men like Mike getting back into trouble within the first year following their release.  According to Scott Albert, president of the Albert Institute, a workforce agency that serves the reentry community in Pittsburgh, “Stable employment that pays a fair wage has the most significant impact on curbing recidivist behaviors.”  The data from several recent studies back him up. 

In the interest of sharing important information on best practices on the reentry of ex-offenders into society, Mr. Albert’s organization has put together a “virtual conference,” the kickoff event for which is on March 8.  Called “Spring Into Reentry,” the program features three live webinars, a radio program, and a special on-site training, along with several pre-recorded webinars.  National experts from the world of reentry and criminal justice will hold forth on various initiatives, and a panel of employers will discuss giving ex-offenders a second chance, why they are willing to, and what they look for when doing so. 

This last group is particularly unique and interesting, due to the fact that without second-chance employers, there would be no second-chance jobs for the formerly incarcerated.  Few workforce professionals have a better track record of developing relationships with these types of employers than Mr. Albert.  His organization has been on the cutting edge in workforce-reentry initiatives in the Pittsburgh area for the past several years. 

This spring’s virtual conference is well timed: With the cancellation of the DOWD Conference, the reentry field finds itself in need of professional development opportunities—opportunities to share information among the community.  This virtual conference won’t fill the entire professional development void left by the loss of DOWD, but it offers a great deal of content via its mixed media format.  With a wider dissemination of important content, the field can better go about the business of helping more ex-offenders like Mike.

When it comes to the impact that reentry-workforce services had on his life, Mike says: “If it weren’t for meeting Scott and getting that first job, who knows where I’d be.”

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The Albert Institute, LLC offers comprehensive workforce development services to businesses, local organizations and job seekers.  Primary activities include day-to-day management of neighborhood career centers, training for career counselors & educators and coordination of networking activities for like-minded business professionals.

Career counselors, educators, probation officers and all those professionals helping others secure employment can learn about unique webinar and training opportunities at www.thealbertinstitute.com.