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National Institute of JusticeNational Institute of CorrectionsOffice of Correctional Education

A ComprehensiveApproach toOffenderEmployment

Washington State’sCorrectionsClearinghouse:

PROGRAM FOCUS

2 National Institute of Justice

HighlightsThe Corrections Clearinghouse (CCH), a unitof the Washington State Employment Secu-rity Department, illustrates one State’s rarecommitment, dedication of resources, anddemonstrated results in preparing offendersfor the workplace and finding employmentfor ex-offenders. Founded in 1976, CCH haspursued an unusually broad range of strategiesfor achieving these goals, including:

● Providing some direct services (for ex-ample, teaching job readiness courses inprisons and contracting with community-based organizations to provide job searchassistance to ex-offenders).

● Brokering services available from otheragencies (for example, bringing a com-munity college and the State Departmentof Social and Health Services together toset up a for-credit college program thatintegrates job search assistance with sub-stance abuse treatment for ex-offenders inrecovery).

● Coordinating activities across agencies (forexample, arranging for inmates to produceand distribute the statewide computerizedCase Management Resource Directory).

CCH attempts to provide a continuum of ser-vices to prison inmates that begins with anemployability assessment during incarcerationand ends with job placement and ongoing assis-tance after employment. The program adds tran-sitional program elements—from work ethicstraining to job search assistance—to meet theneeds of different correctional institutions.

In fiscal year 1997–98, at least 3,080 inmatescompleted either a CCH employment or train-ing activity available in 5 of the State’s 15institutions. Through contracts with community-based organizations, CCH provided job searchassistance to 1,312 ex-offenders in fiscal year1996–97. The contracted community-based or-ganizations helped place 776 of the 1,312 CCHclients (nearly 60 percent) in jobs at an averagecost of $276 per enrollee. After 45 days, 68percent were still working on the job. Fifteen

percent of 500 CCH clients who found em-ployment had returned to DOC custody after5 years, compared with a historic rate of 30percent for all department releasees.

CCH also provides programs in all seven ofthe State’s juvenile facilities and assists localjails in establishing jail industries and otheremployment training programs.

With an annual budget of nearly $1.8 millionfrom the Employment Security Department,CCH’s efforts are enhanced by more than$475,000 from DOC and more than $600,000from the State Department of Social and HealthServices.

Although it may seem a daunting task toreplicate such a multifaceted program, otherjurisdictions can start by offering job prepa-ration classes to inmates and job search ser-vices to ex-offenders—and then add CCH’sother components over time. This incremen-tal approach would be in keeping with CCH’sown evolution and its current status as a workin progress.

Washington State’s CorrectionsClearinghouse: A ComprehensiveApproach to Offender Employmentby Peter Finn

ear Ms. Bates,

How are you doing? You’re probably pretty busy, so I’ll keep this kind of short.

Right now I’m working for ________. I’m getting $6 an hour, but that will changesoon. I’m quality control and packager for the tile made during the night shift. Af-ter 3 days on the job, my boss wanted to start training me for the lead. Translation:I’ll have two or three people working for me in about another month. I personallyhate supervisory positions because I don’t like telling people what to do. I don’tmind showing or teaching somebody, but this is too much!

D

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Now all this is under the assumption youremember who I am. I don’t blame you ifyou don’t (yeah, I’ve always had no self-esteem), but in case you do . . . I want tothank you for a few things. One, beingable to find a job. I couldn’t have done itwithout the knowledge you gave me. I beatout quite a few people for that job (by theway, I’m working 12 hours a day, 5 daysa week). What you taught me is very valu-able, and I’ll use it for years to come. Theother is for taking the time to sit and talkwith me. No one has done that for mebefore . . . . It helped me tremendously toknow that you cared enough to take thetime and talk with me. I don’t think you’llever know what a positive impact you’vehad on my life. You’ve definitely madea difference in one life: mine. Again,THANK YOU! You have made a differ-ence. Not a whole lot of people get thatchance.

I have to go (I’m rather tired), but I’llremember you for the rest of my life.Take care and good luck!

—Letter from an ex-offender to ShawnBates, Corrections ClearinghouseEmployment Specialist

In fiscal year 1996–97, Washington Statehad an average daily prison populationof 12,677; more than 5,985 offenderswere released from prison that year.The mission of the State’s CorrectionsClearinghouse (CCH), a branch of theEmployment Security Department, is towork with correctional officials to provideservices to motivate and enable theseinmates and releasees—like the gratefulex-offender who wrote the letter above—to secure employment instead of resuminga life of crime.

CCH has grown considerably over time,and it continues to change to meet newchallenges and expand its operations. (See“The Corrections Clearinghouse Has a

The Corrections Clearinghouse Has a LongHistory, but It’s Still Evolving

● Providing services within correctionsfacilities (1985).

● Serving juvenile offenders (1989).

● Promoting the development of employ-ment skills training for jail inmates (1994).

● Preparing youths sentenced as adults foremployment in prison industries (1998).

According to Anthony Clarke, CCH’s Pro-gram Manager, in its early years, theprogram’s biggest challenge was workingwith DOC administrators and line staff tomake preparing inmates for meaningful workafter release a top corrections priority. CCHsought to promote employment trainingthrough a newsletter on developments in thecorrections field, which Clarke edited from1988 to 1992. CCH took a giant step forwardin 1987 when Douglas Jacques, who hadbeen DOC’s Assistant Deputy Director forSecurity, became Director of CCH, becausehe could talk to correctional staff from theirperspective—that is, with hands-on knowl-edge and recognition that programming hadto be secondary to security. Clarke says:“Defining, delivering, and maintaining acontinuum of services for all levels of correc-tions is now CCH’s biggest challenge.”

The Corrections Clearinghouse (CCH) grewout of the decline of the Seattle area airplanemanufacturing industry in the early 1970s. Aspart of a number of reemployment programsthat were developed at the time to assist laid-off workers, the State legislature providedfunding for the Employment Security Depart-ment to establish the Ex-Offender WorkOrientation Program to help newly releasedinmates find jobs. Prison riots in the 1970salso contributed to the legislature’s and theDepartment of Corrections’ (DOC’s) interestin expanding the education and trainingservices available to inmates.

Based on the success of the work orientationprogram—and his experience as a formerparole officer—the Deputy Assistant Com-missioner of the Employment Security De-partment worked with the DOC Secretary in1976 to formalize and expand the link be-tween the two departments as the newlyformed Corrections Clearinghouse.

CCH’s original mission was simply to serveas a coordinating body for adult offendersbeing released from prison. Over time, CCHhas expanded its mission to include thefollowing:

Long History, but It’s Still Evolving.”)As of 1998, CCH was providing thefollowing:

● Direct services in institutions and thecommunity, such as vocational assess-ments, job preparation classes, andemployment assistance.

● Brokering services such as bringing acommunity college and the StateDepartment of Social and Health Ser-vices together to set up a for-credit

program that integrates job searchassistance with substance abusetreatment.

● Coordination services such as arrang-ing the production and distribution ofa statewide computerized CaseManagement Resource Directory.

Following are examples of the activitiesCCH conducts, brokers, and coordinates.What is especially distinctive about CCHundertakings as a whole is how they

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create a network of State and local agen-cies capable of providing services that aregenerated and coordinated by a singleentity—CCH.

At the same time, CCH attempts toprovide a continuum of services begin-ning with vocational and work maturityassessments during incarceration andending with job placements in thecommunity. “Once these two pillarsof program activities are in place,” saysDouglas Jacques, CCH’s Director, “weadd a variety of transitional programelements to meet the needs of differentcorrectional institutions.”

Direct ServiceDeliveryCCH’s two principal forms of directservice delivery are the provision ofinstitution courses and postrelease jobsearch assistance. As of 1998, CCH hadthe resources and institutional interest toprovide direct services in five adult andseven juvenile institutions. (See exhibit 1.)

Adult institutionsWhile community colleges focus on pro-viding basic and special education servicesin Washington State prisons and CCHconcentrates on providing employment-related services, potential for overlap inproviding transition services exists. As aresult, the Department of Corrections(DOC) requires that staff from CCH, thecolleges, and facilities decide togetherwhat courses CCH will offer at each insti-tution to provide continuity of servicesamong the various providers. CCH in-cludes these courses in its annual proposalto DOC. Based on available funding, DOCdecides which courses to hire CCH toprovide.

CCH staff in adult prisons offer severalprerelease employment-related courses,including job dynamics and transitionalemployment. (See exhibit 2.) CCH staffalso offer vocational assessments at onefacility and industrial safety courses intwo facilities to inmates participating incorrectional industries or institutionalwork programs. Worksite supervisorsuse the assessment results to make institu-tional job placement decisions. Forexample, in deciding which inmates toaccept into their programs, the vocationalupholstery trainer at one facility relies inpart on the results of a CCH-administeredtest that measures manual speed anddexterity and spacial relations, while theoptical program instructor uses the resultsof a CCH test that shows whether inmatescan work with negative numbers so theycan read eyeglass prescriptions.

In addition to offering courses, CCH staffhelp inmates obtain Social Security cards,State identification cards, and other docu-ments, as well as helping them registerwith JobNet, the Washington State jobbank. (See “Prerelease job search assis-tance.”) Inmates talk enthusiasticallyabout the courses. According to a studentin the transitional employment class at theTacoma Pre-Release Center:

At first, I felt the course was some-thing I had to go through. But it turnedout to be very informative; now I feelI can get a job. Before, I felt no onewould hire an ex-offender. Filling outthe job application was the most usefulpart, especially learning how to de-scribe my qualifications. If I’d done iton my own, I would just have said,“maintenance work.” I learned how toexpand on my background and skills inways employers would find attractive.

At the Washington Corrections Center forWomen, CCH offers an unusual transition-to-trades initiative tailored to women of-fenders. After initial assessments and jobreadiness preparation by the CCH staffmember in the women’s institution, in-mates are placed in various industry workassignments. To ensure the inmates suc-ceed on the job, the CCH staff memberleads them in classes that focus on workingwith supervisors, arriving on time, andrelated issues.

The trades initiative includes the follow-ing two innovative programs intended toenhance job knowledge and skills innontraditional trades for women:

● Women’s apprenticeship program.Capitalizing in part on his backgroundas a journeyman meatcutter, CCHDirector Jacques persuaded threeunions—carpenters, laborers, andironworkers—to fund and staff apreapprenticeship program for inmatesin the women’s correctional center.Women who successfully complete theTrades-Related Apprenticeship Coach-ing program are guaranteed unionmembership in one of the unions,thereby improving their chances ofbeing hired after release. CCH alsoarranged for meetings that resulted inthe unions training mentors to help thewomen succeed after release—for ex-ample, by providing guidance on howto deal with troublesome male cowork-ers. The prison also agreed to establisha recreation program to help womenincrease their upper body strength be-cause it will aid them in the work.

● Community service work crews.The institution offers minimum securityinmates offsite employment (for40 cents an hour) on community

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approves the sites, and supervises thecustody staff who escort the crews.

Juvenile institutionsThe Washington State Department ofSocial and Health Services Juvenile Reha-bilitation Administration contracts withCCH to provide employment preparation

services to incarcerated juveniles. Juvenileinstitution managers choose from a menuof services CCH offers, which includes:

● Career awareness classes.

● Classes integrating employability andacademic skills.

service crews that have refurbishedlow-income elderly housing, collectedtoys from donors and wrapped andprepared them for distribution, set upand removed Christmas lights anddecorations at the zoo, and cleanedhighways and illegal dump sites. TheCCH staff person in the institutiondevelops the jobs, schedules the crews,

*School staff do preemployment skills training

Job Search Assistance● Prison releasees● Jail releasees● Juvenile releasees● Seven staff members

Tacoma Pre-Release Center● Job dynamics● Transitional employment● Industrial safety● Two staff members

Washington Corrections Center for Women● Job readiness/job

dynamics● Industrial coordination● Transitional employment● One staff member

Airway Heights Corrections Center● Industrial safety● Job dynamics● Work ethics workshop● Workplace basics● Vocational assessment● Transitional employment● Three staff members

Pine Lodge Pre-Release Center● Job readiness● Transitional employment● One staff member

Coyote Ridge Corrections Center● Job dynamics● Transitional employment● One staff member

Manager, East Operations

Mollie Patshkowski

Manager, WestOperations

Tamara Gillespie

Operations Manager,Adult Services

Jeffrey Johnston

Director

Douglas Jacques

Special Projects

VOTE Program

Jail Industries Board

Corrections Alliance

Seattle Community SupervisionJob Search Assistance● Day Report Center● Work Release Center● Two staff members

Maple Lane School● On-the-job training*● One staff member

Echo Glen School● Preemployment skills

training● One staff member

Naselle Youth Camp● Preemployment skills


Greenhill School● Preemployment skills


Youth Employment Programs

Julie Wilson

Seven Ex-Offender Contractors

Program ManagerAnthony Clarke

Exhibit 1. Corrections Clearinghouse programs

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● Vocational testing.

● Employment preparation classes (worksearch techniques, résumé writing).

● Work maturity and work ethics classes.

CCH also has developed creative appren-ticeship programs in some juvenile facili-ties. (See “Juveniles Develop MarketableSkills—and Give Back to the Commu-nity.”) However, CCH’s most requestedservice is to assess each juvenile’semployability and develop a portfoliocontaining an employability development

plan outlining the offender’s needs and aservice strategy for meeting them. CCHstaff train both the juveniles and theirinstitutions’ education and training staff touse the portfolio as a case managementtool for tracking and updating what in-mates need to do to become employable(e.g., enroll in a General EquivalencyDiploma (GED) preparation program).

Prerelease job searchassistanceCCH offers job search assistance toinmates in some adult and juvenile institu-

Exhibit 2. Corrections Clearinghouse prison course enrollments in fiscal year 1997–98

* The same inmate could have enrolled in and completed more than one course at each institution. As a result, to avoid double counting program completers, this figure represents the sum of the most well-attended course at each institution.

Courses Offered Assisted Inmates to Secure Documents

Facility Course Graduates Social Driver’sSecurity License/State

Card Identification

Tacoma Pre-Release ● Transitional Employment 503 380 576Center ● Job Dynamics/Industrial 302

Safety

Washington Corrections Center ● Transitional Employment 62 0 162for Women ● Job Dynamics 591

Airway Heights ● Transitional Employment 233 777 524Corrections Center ● Vocational Assessment 334

● Job Dynamics 662● Industrial Safety 436

Pine Lodge ● Transitional Employment 626 157 113Pre-Release Center

Coyote Ridge ● Transitional Employment 275 178 141Corrections Center ● Job Dynamics 698

TOTAL 3,080* 1,492 1,516

tions even before they are released. Atfive prisons, CCH instructors register theirstudents with the Employment SecurityDepartment, enabling them to access thedepartment’s JobNet computerized jobdatabank so they can get job leads whilestill in prison. Shawn Bates, CCH’sEmployment Specialist at Coyote RidgeCorrections Center, gives each studentfour leads. During the last hour of herhalf-day prerelease refresher course, sheencourages them to call the leads fromthe institution for appointments. LouisMontano, the CCH Employment Specialist

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The Corrections Clearinghouse (CCH) has anunusual arrangement at Maple Lane School,one of Washington State’s seven juvenile in-stitutions. The school’s superintendent andCCH agreed that the facility’s basic educationinstructors, rather than CCH staff, could teachCCH’s job readiness curriculum. CCH stafftaught the instructors to integrate the curricu-lum into the institution’s regular coursework—for example, infusing résumé writing and com-pleting job applications into English classes.

This approach freed Maple Lane’s CCHinstructor to establish with the local commu-nity vocational programs and job partnershipsthat could increase inmates’ job readiness. Theprograms also incorporate restorative justiceprinciples: Inmates give back services to thecommunity as well as give half of their $2 perhour wages for restitution and court costs. Forexample, Maple Lane’s WeatherizationThrough Restorative Justice program is apartnership among the institution, the localschool district, the Coastal Community Action

Juveniles Develop Marketable Skills—and Give Back to the Community

Program, the Bonneville (Dam) Power Ad-ministration, and CCH to teach on-the-jobvocational skills to inmates who furnish weath-erization services to elderly and low-incomeresidents in the local community. Startup fund-ing of $28,839 (used mostly for purchasingsmall handtools) was provided through MapleLane’s education fund and several Federal andState agencies. CCH pulled the program to-gether by resolving security issues, findingequipment, and solving logistical problems.

By summer 1997, 70 offenders had weather-ized 19 homes. According to one student:

Six or seven of us go out in a group andwork at least in pairs—for example, layingdown plastic on floors. Since it requiresteamwork, we learn to compromise. WhenI get out [of prison], I can show I haveexperience in the field. Besides, insteadof watching TV or sitting in dull classesor my cell, I’m doing something interest-ing. My attitude changed—I do lessarguing, I get along better with people.

An inmate at Airway Heights Corrections Center talks with a service provider toupdate information in the Corrections Clearinghouse’s Case Management ResourceDirectory about the organization’s current services, eligibility requirements, and fees.

at Airway Heights Corrections Center,tells the story of Joe:

Joe hated the world when he came tomy transitional employment class; hejust wanted a place to mouth off. Buthe completed the class, so I told him totake the anger management class, too,which he did. He left here for workrelease a month ago. But first I set himup with three tree-topping services.I told him, “I’ll dial and you talk.”So he called from here and stammeredthrough two or three trials. Finally,he got an interview and then ended upwith three job offers. Now he’s inwork release earning $11 an hour.

CCH staff may also provide adults andjuveniles with a contact person at an Em-ployment Security Job Service Center orat one of CCH’s own Ex-Offender WorkOrientation Program contractors.

Postrelease job searchassistance: The Ex-Offender WorkOrientation ProgramCCH contracts with six community-basedorganizations and one Employment Secu-rity Job Service Center to provide jobsearch assistance to adult and juvenile ex-offenders.1 Known as the “Ex-O”Program, the seven contractors provideindividual vocational assessments, jobcounseling, help with résumé writingand interviewing techniques, job searchassistance, and the offer of ongoingpostplacement services. The providersalso are contracted to provide upgradesfor clients—help them gain promotionsthat involve higher wages. (See “CCHUses Performance-Based Contracts.”) Ex-O counselors inform qualified clientswhen better jobs become available in other

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companies and instruct them in how toask for promotions from their existingemployers.

Eligible clients include inmates undercommunity supervision and unemployedex-offenders who have been releasedwithin the previous 2 years. Referralsprimarily come from community correc-tions (parole) officers, from work releaseand prerelease facilities, and by word-of-mouth (walk-ins).

CCH issues requests for proposals forEx-O services every 2 years and awardsthe contracts on the basis of the bidders’track records and proposals. Eachcontractor is awarded between $40,000and $50,000 per year to hire a full-timeemployment specialist and pay a portionof the organization’s overhead.

Ex-O staff help clients secure a widevariety of jobs offering minimum- toprofessional-level wages. Jobs includeroofing, landscaping, warehouse, restau-rant, janitorial, health care, mechanical,and office work.

System Change andBroker ServicesCCH brokers a number of services—thatis, it acts as the agent for other groups toestablish collaborative ventures. CCHstaff telephone high-level administratorsof two or more groups to explain thatthey have a common problem they canprobably solve if they will meet to-gether. CCH staff arrange a meetingamong the groups and sometimes pro-vide several hundred dollars in one-timetravel expenses so they can begin work-ing together. CCH staff may or may notattend or facilitate these meetings. The

An inmate at Airway Heights Corrections Center works on aggregating informationsent electronically to the prison from the seven Ex-O job placement contractors forinclusion in the Corrections Clearinghouse’s MIS.

The Corrections Clearinghouse (CCH) nego-tiates performance-based contracts with sixcommunity-based organizations and one Em-ployment Security Job Service Center to pro-vide job search assistance to ex-offenders. Ifa contractor failed to meet its placement,retention, and upgrade goals, it would losemoney. The contract stipulates: “Based onthe quarterly monitoring review results,the [Employment Security] Departmentreserves the right to . . . withhold and reallo-cate monies from contractors who are not incompliance with their current contract pro-gram goals . . . .”

For example, one organization’s Table ofMonthly Program Projections, included in itsannual contract, requires per month seven en-rollments, six job placements, and, beginning

CCH Uses Performance-Based Contracts

with month three of the contract, threeupgrades. However, each contractor isguaranteed a minimum level of reimburse-ment regardless of its performance. DouglasJacques, CCH’s Director, explains why CCHemphasizes upgrades—defined as a payincrease and increased responsibility. “Be-cause ex-offenders tend to take the first avail-able job, which could be entry level, we wantcontractors to continue to work with clients inthese low-paying positions to improve theiremployment situation.”

What makes performance contracting possibleis CCH’s computerized management informa-tion system (MIS) that collects and presentsmonthly data on each contractor’s performance.(See the MIS discussion under “Qualitycontrol.”)

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skills, daily job search activities, and as-sistance with enrolling in GED courses oradult basic skills training programs. Staffalso provide counseling to address alcoholand other drug recovery issues. Partici-pants become students at Pierce College,the 2-year institution in Tacoma whereVOTE was launched, earning 10 collegecredits in psychology for completing theprogram.

CCH contributed to VOTE’s initiation andsuccess. Initially, the director of a localvocational program met with two adminis-trators from Pierce College and from theDivision of Alcohol and Substance Abuseto suggest the creation of a pilot job searchprogram for recovering substance abusers.CCH staff found money for the pilotprogram in the Employment SecurityDepartment’s budget to match contribu-tions by the division and the college. CCHfunded an educator to manage the pilotprogram and secure staff to teach the jobsearch component. When the programproved successful, the agencies made itpermanent. Currently, the program has sixstaff members, three of whom are programgraduates. The manager, who has sincebecome a CCH staff member but is paidby the Division of Alcohol and SubstanceAbuse, has implemented a similar pro-gram in Yakima and is establishing a thirdin Seattle.

A former student expressed sentimentssimilar to those of other program partici-pants regarding VOTE’s helpfulness:

VOTE helps you get where you wantto go. They give aptitude tests and passout labor market surveys and laborgrowth studies. I decided I wanted todo landscaping. I would never haveknown that landscaping was availableto me except for the VOTE aptitude

following two undertakings exemplifyCCH-brokered activities.

Corrections AllianceThe Carl Perkins Vocational EducationAct of 1990 established a Federal programthat allocates money to the States foreducation. In Washington State, theWorkforce Education and Training Boardreceives and disburses the funds—$20million each year for kindergarten throughgrade 12 schools, and for communitycolleges.

The Act requires States to distribute atleast 1 percent of their allocation to cor-rectional education programs. However,the Workforce Board was unfamiliar witheducational needs in prisons and jails. Asa result, Jacques proposed setting up theCorrections Alliance, with broad represen-tation of agencies and rehabilitation ex-perts, to make the funding decisions forthe $195,000 annual Perkins set-aside.

Although Alliance members review pro-posals and decide which programs to fund,Anthony Clarke, CCH Program Manager,coordinates the Alliance’s work, chairs itsmeetings, oversees the bid process, andadministers the granting of funds. Forexample, in negotiating an Alliance con-tract with one county jail for the purchaseof computers, he also negotiated for cor-rectional staff to be trained in computeruse so that they in turn could train in-mates. He also included a provision thatwould allow released inmates to continuetheir training with the provider. As part ofa contract to provide literacy training inanother jail, Clarke negotiated for employ-ers to come into the jail to help design thecurriculum so inmates will learn thoseskills that the employers need, increasingthe inmates’ chances of being hired after

release. Clarke and Jacques have provideddirect technical assistance to at least eightjails for developing inmate education andtraining curriculums and programs.

According to Jacques: “In most States,the 1-percent set-aside goes into the DOCbudget, where it gets lost as a blip on thescreen of total dollars. In WashingtonState, however, the Corrections Allianceuses the money to make a difference bydistributing it to local agencies in an effortto promote systemwide change.” TheAlliance usually awards annual grants asseed money to six to eight organizations.For example, as a result of a $10,000Alliance grant to the Washington Councilon Crime and Delinquency to introducethe State to the concept of jail industries,local sheriffs and police chiefs supportedlegislation in 1993 to create the Jail Indus-tries Board. The Alliance then awarded agrant to the Jail Industries Board to helptwo counties establish jail industries.Since then, CCH and the Alliance haveprovided administrative and programsupport to the board’s ongoing efforts topromote other jail industry startups.

Vocational OpportunityTraining and EducationVocational Opportunity Training andEducation (VOTE) is a college programin Tacoma for ex-offenders who are inrecovery from chemical dependency.County and nonprofit assessment centersfunded by the Division of Alcohol andSubstance Abuse within the State Depart-ment of Social and Health Services refermost of the individuals.

The VOTE program provides a 7-weekreturn-to-work workshop that includesvocational interest and employabilityassessments, development of job search

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test. I always thought landscapingwas mowing lawns. I graduated fromVOTE. Then I went to Tacoma Com-munity College and got a degree inlandscape management. VOTE got meinto the school and helped me fill outan application for financial aid.

CoordinationServices: The CaseManagementResource DirectoryCCH has coordinated numerous undertak-ings, but one in particular stands out: theCase Management Resource Directory.The directory is a listing of 2,500resources in Washington—from freeclothing to substance abuse treatment—that people can use to steer clients tosources for needed help. Users can accessthe resources by county, ZIP code, or typeof service. The directory is available forsale in hard copy and on disk. In additionto corrections employment specialists,welfare offices and vocational rehabilita-tion agencies use the directory.

The electronic version of the directory isavailable for Macintosh, DOS, and Win-dows® applications. After locating thespecific resources a client needs, agencystaff can print the information for theclient. The photograph on the next pageshows a screen from the disk displayingthe kind of information the directory pro-vides for each resource agency—name,telephone number, hours, fees, servicesand programs, eligibility requirements,and types of clients it serves.

In 1994, CCH staff arranged for AirwayHeights Corrections Center administratorsand the local college’s inmate computer

instructor to create an electronic versionof the directory. The instructor devised aprison industry program involving sixinmates, directing them to:

● Design and write the computersoftware for the disk version of thedirectory.

● Integrate new resources into thedirectory by obtaining the names andaddresses of organizations from tele-phone books and preexisting directoriesand mailing them forms requestingbasic information about themselves.

● Proofread to ensure that resources arenot duplicated in the directory.

● Update the entries quarterly by mailingor faxing requests for changes of ad-dress and services to each resourcelisted in the directory. “We get a goodresponse on the updates,” one inmatereports, “because there is no charge forbeing listed and it’s a good way forproviders to get clients.”

● Test a pilot system in which inmatescall (rather than write) programs listedin the directory to obtain updated infor-mation about their services.

● Staff the toll-free telephone and faxlines for ordering copies, receivingupdates, and adding resources.

● Design and print a brochure advertisingthe directory.

● Fill orders for the directory, includingtracking the orders and packaging andshipping the directory. (The printing iscontracted to another Washington Stateprison that has a printing department.)

Inmates who work on the directoryreport that they feel they are doing some-thing positive for other inmates and thecommunity. As a result, CCH staff feelthe inmates’ efforts fit nicely with the prin-ciples of restorative justice—repaying thecommunity as a whole for their crimes—aswell as providing a service to other inmates.

CCH charges $25 for the hard copy of thedirectory and $20 for the four quarterly(updated) disks. Corrections agenciesreceive the directory for free. As of mid-1997, CCH had received 433 orders forthe hard copy and 132 orders for the disk(excluding free copies distributed to Ex-Ocontractors and others). The $11,630 CCHreceived in sales in 1997 offset the costsfor production and distribution. In addition,the directory is currently being convertedinto a program that will allow otherjurisdictions to customize it to build theirown resource directories. (See “DirectoryWill Be Available Nationwide.”)

Organization, Staffing,and CostsCCH has a total of 23 professional staffmembers, including:

● Six administrative staff members.

● Two regional operations managers.

● Eight employment specialists in fiveadult prisons.

● Four employment specialists in sevenjuvenile facilities.

● Two employment specialists in a dayreporting and work release center.

● One contract testing manager.

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A computer screen from the Corrections Clearinghouse’s Case ManagementResource Directory provides detailed information about a health careorganization, such as location, hours of operation, fees, and services.

In 1997, the National Institute of Corrections(NIC) provided funding to CCH (which in turnhas collaborated with the Institute of ExtendedLearning, the Community College of Spo-kane, and Airway Heights Corrections Center)to convert the Case Management ResourceDirectory into a computer program that States,counties, or any other geographic areas couldcustomize for their jurisdictions using inmatelabor. The generic version will enable other

Directory Will Be Available Nationwideprisons and jails to provide additional inmatetraining and work opportunities, while at thesame time providing a valuable public service.Upon completion of the 18-month project,NIC’s Office of Correctional Job Training andPlacement expects to seek funding to providetechnical assistance to State and local correc-tional systems wanting to implement thesystem.

Exhibit 1 shows the interrelationshipsamong the staff. Douglas Jacques, asDirector of CCH, focuses on efforts toplace or expand CCH programs in prisons,jails, and juvenile facilities. “I try to knockdown barriers, whether they are institu-tional objections to hosting a CCH pro-gram or difficulty obtaining funding,”Jacques says. Other staff share responsi-bility for program implementation.

Quality controlHow does CCH exercise quality controlover such a multifaceted and geographi-cally dispersed program? The program hastwo full-time regional operations manag-ers—Mollie Patshkowski and TamaraGillespie. Each handles half of the State,visiting each institution in her region atleast weekly to talk with staff, prisonadministrators, and inmates and periodi-cally observing classes. According toStephen Ringo, an instructor at PineLodge Pre-Release Center: “Mollie visitsme, looks through my enrollment forms tosee if they are accurate and complete,checks some completed student résumés,and makes sure the data I have turned inmatch the data in my files. The regionalstaff and Doug [Jacques] have also sat inon my classes.” Patshkowski and Gillespiereport to Jeffrey Johnston, CCH’s Opera-tions Manager. Known as the “TravelingMan,” Johnston also visits program sites,dropping in on classes unannounced.

CCH encourages institutional personnelto report any problems with CCH staff.In fact, Anthony Clarke says: “It is usuallyDOC staff who warn us of a problem staffmember.” For instance, an institution staffmember’s reports of inmate complaintsabout a CCH instructor led to the personbeing fired after further investigation.

To monitor Ex-O contractor performance,Johnston uses a five-page checklist toreview a sample of ex-offender files fromrandomly selected contractors to ensurethey are following established procedures.He also calls 3 percent of contractorclients annually to ask about their satisfac-tion with the services they received. Onone occasion, Johnston discovered throughthese personal surveys that an Ex-Oemployment specialist was lying about

finding jobs for clients; the person wasfired.

CCH conducts an annual review of Ex-Ocontractor files, including comparisons ofprovided services billed on invoices withthose listed in client records in the data-base. Staff are also planning to call asample of employers each year to verifythat they have hired the clients Ex-Ocontractors reported they placed in jobs.

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CCH’s management information system(MIS) also provides quality control. TheMIS collects from facilities and Ex-Ocontractors information on participants’educational level and training enteredand completed—including placement inclasses or work, services provided, jobupgrade information, and 15- and 45-dayfollowup information. Each facility andcontractor records the information onforms and sends them in hard copy orelectronic version to Airway Heights Cor-rections Center. Inmate students in thecomputer laboratory input, aggregate, andreport the data. (Inmates themselves de-veloped a system for keeping inmates’names separate from the data to maintainconfidentiality.) CCH mails the informa-tion each month to the facilities, Ex-Ocontractors, and the two regional opera-tions managers.

On one occasion, the data showed thatplacement rates had plummeted at oneprison, along with the number of programparticipants and graduates. As a result,CCH replaced two staff members at thefacility with more experienced staff fromanother facility. The following year’s datashowed improvement.

CostsExhibit 3 presents funding sourcesand planned expenditures for CCH’s$3,209,131 budget for 1997–99. The pro-gram receives slightly more than half ofits funding from the Employment SecurityDepartment’s Penalty and Interest Fund.Employers who are delinquent in payingtheir State unemployment insurance taxespay penalties and interest into the fund.The Department of Social and HealthServices provides CCH with $644,992,but the State legislature mandates that theJuvenile Rehabilitation Administration set

aside $500,000 of this amount for CCHservices for juveniles. The Division ofAlcohol and Substance Abuse provides thedepartment’s remaining $144,992 for theVOTE program.

In fiscal year 1996–97, CCH spent$361,500 on the Ex-O contractors. Inhelping 776 ex-offenders secure jobs,CCH’s cost per placement was $465; withan enrollment of 1,312 ex-offenders, itscost per enrollee was $276.

Widespread supportWhy has the State legislature been willing tosupport CCH? According to Ida Ballasiotes,co-chair of the State House of Representa-tives Criminal Justice and CorrectionsCommittee: “We want to get inmates jobsso they won’t come back, so we go tothe source that is best able to providethem with job preparation and job searchskills—CCH.” The legislature’s confi-dence in CCH is based on the program’sevaluation data (see “Assessing CCH’sSuccess”), which the committee hasrequested each year since 1991.

The agencies that fund CCH share thishigh regard for its services. Jean Stewart,Educational Services Administrator forDOC, says: “CCH staff are the experts inlabor market information, so they’re in agood position to advise offenders and ex-offenders about jobs, something DOCstaff can’t do as well. They also haveaccess to JobNet.” Joseph Lehman, Secre-tary of DOC, says:

The Clearinghouse is definitely benefi-cial to us. In many cases, correctionsfocuses only on improving offenders’academic and vocational skills—whichis important—but we fail to helpthem establish links to the real world

through employment. These links arecritical because they give ex-offendersa stake in the noncriminal, conven-tional world through the income theyearn, the relationships they form, andthe recognition they gain through paid,meaningful employment. The Clear-inghouse helps inmates with bothissues—skills development and worklinkages.

Robin Cummings, Chief of CommunityServices at the Juvenile RehabilitationAdministration, adds: “In an effort toimprove the training capacity of our ownstaff, CCH has trained some of our coun-selors not only to help our juveniles tobecome job ready but also to work withemployment supervisors in the facilities,like the cooks, to better prepare thesejuveniles for the marketplace.”

Assessing CCH’sSuccessCCH managers acknowledge that theirprogram monitoring and evaluation effortshave been inadequate. These weaknessesreflect a publicly stated 10-year policy touse scarce financial resources to providemore services to offenders rather thanbuild a sophisticated MIS and evaluationsystem. Despite these shortcomings,CCH’s commitment to collecting andanalyzing program data to the fullest ex-tent possible has resulted in promisingevaluation findings.

Promising evaluationresultsIn fiscal year 1997–98, at least 3,080 in-mates completed a CCH program. Morethan 80 percent of institutional enrolleescompleted their CCH programs. CCH

Program Focus 13

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Stephen Ringo, a Corrections Clearinghouse EmploymentSpecialist at Pine Lodge Pre-Release Center near Spokane,helps a student inmate develop an effective résumé.

staff also assisted 1,492 inmates in secur-ing Social Security cards, 1,516 in obtain-ing driver’s licenses or other State ofWashington identification, and 179 inregistering with JobNet.2

CCH and DOC staff in institutions tend torefer inmates who need the most attentionto Ex-O contractors, rather than to theEmployment Security Job Service Centers.Despite working with the most disadvan-taged ex-offenders, Ex-O contractors haveconsistently exceeded their enrollment andplacement performance goals and comeclose to or exceeded their upgrade goals.For example, in 1996–97, the seven con-tractors exceeded their enrollment goal bymore than 50 percent and exceeded theirplacement goal by nearly 50 percent. Theyachieved 90 percent of their upgrade goal.

Exhibit 4 presents the seven Ex-O contrac-tors’ achievements from 1989 through1997. In fiscal year 1996–97, the organi-zations enrolled 1,312 ex-offenders

(regardless of whetherthey received CCH ser-vices while incarcerated),59 percent of whomfound work. Of these, 99percent were still em-ployed after 15 days, and68 percent after 45 days.More than 20 percent ofthose who found workachieved employmentupgrades. The averagestarting wage for em-ployed clients was ap-proximately $6.76 anhour; they worked anaverage of 39 hours perweek.

CCH studied 116 repre-sentative ex-offenders who were enrolledin the Ex-O program from October 1995 toJune 1997 and who had been released orwere in work release for a period of 8 to24 months. While the study was short termand just descriptive, the followup data areencouraging because only two participantswere known to have committed newcrimes and been reincarcerated.3

The Ex-O program appears to be costeffective. A 1993 study conducted by CCHstaff with the assistance of DOC’s Officeof Research compared the recidivism ratesof 500 Ex-O clients who found employ-ment with the historical recidivism rateamong all department releasees.(Recidivism—defined as a return to DOCcustody—excluded ex-offenders whomight have been jailed.) The recidivismrate for the Ex-O clients after 1 year was 3percent, compared with 10 percent for allreleasees; after 5 years, the recidivism ratewas 15 percent for the Ex-O clients com-pared with 30 percent for all releasees.

However, the study did not control forselection bias among the Ex-O clients.

Another study suggests that the VOTEprogram may reduce recidivism. TheDepartment of Social and Health Servicesconducted a 15-month followup study ofindigent persons served by the State’sAlcoholism and Drug Addiction Treat-ment and Support Act (ADATSA).The study compared clients from threevocational programs: 133 clients whoparticipated in a traditional vocationalrehabilitation program for individuals stillin treatment; 227 clients who completedtreatment and participated in a programthat offered vocational rehabilitationservices and a motivational and skillsworkshop; and 398 VOTE clients. Theclients from all three programs werecompared with 167 ADATSA clients whodid not receive vocational services. Com-parison cases lived in the same geographicareas served by the three programs andhad completed substance abuse treatment.Instead of matching clients demographi-cally, the researchers used multivariateanalysis to assess the effects of variables.Up to 15 months after treatment, 24 per-cent of persons completing the VOTEprogram were employed (i.e., working atleast half time consistently for up to 15months after receiving treatment andvocational services) compared with 17 and9 percent of persons involved in the twotraditional programs and 9 percent ofpersons in the comparison group. Long-term employment outcomes were notstatistically correlated with work experi-ence, prior welfare status, ethnicity, age,education, or type of drug used. However,selection bias still might have explainedsome of VOTE’s superior performance,because the program screens for the qual-ity of the client’s recovery process and, in

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doing so, may select clients who are morelikely to succeed in employment in thelong term.

Ongoing programweaknessesCCH does have weaknesses. Because ofa lack of funding, only the WashingtonCorrections Center for Women and AirwayHeights Corrections Center administer anemployability intake assessment—theessential starting point for providing acontinuum of services. Budget cuts pre-vented DOC from funding a $52,000 CCHproposal to hire staff at two DOC receptioncenters to assess all incoming inmates.Funding limitations also prevent CCH

from providing services in every facility.In addition, there are no Ex-O contractorsin nine counties with a total of 20 percentof the State’s population; a State House ofRepresentatives bill to award contracts inthese counties died in committee. Also,Anthony Clarke and some Ex-O contractorstaff agree that problems with the MIS’saccuracy and completeness have beenfound. CCH does not actively contactplaced Ex-O clients to check theirprogress and identify additional supportneeded—a significant gap in the attemptto provide a continuum of services toex-offenders.

Of greatest concern, CCH’s institutionprograms are not offered in 8 of the

State’s 15 institutions. Jacques says: “TheClearinghouse is in the institutions at thesuperintendents’ discretion—they canchoose to have us in or not; we’re a guestin the house of corrections.” As a result,“the Corrections Clearinghouse is still awork in progress.” However, CCH is wellentrenched in the Washington CorrectionsCenter for Women and Airway HeightsCorrections Center, provides services inevery juvenile facility, contributes to thedevelopment of jail industries and employ-ment readiness programs, and offers jobsearch assistance to a significant propor-tion of the State’s ex-offenders. Further-more, CCH is still negotiating to bring itsown—and, especially, other agencies’—

Exhibit 3. Corrections Clearinghouse budget, 1997–99

Funding Source How the Money Is Spent Total AllocationI. Penalty and Interest Fund Allocation

CCH—Coordination, Current Levela $695,600CCH—Career Preparednessb $320,600Ex-Offender Work Orientation Program $781,300 Total Penalty and Interest Funds $1,797,500

II. Department of Corrections Contract Allocation

Tacoma Pre-Release Center $120,563Pine Lodge Pre-Release Center $ 62,026Coyote Ridge Corrections Center $ 57,278Airway Heights Corrections Center $198,377Washington Corrections Center for Women $ 37,415 Total DOC Contracts $475,659

III. Department of Social and Health Services

Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration $500,000Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (VOTE) $144,992

IV. Carl Perkins Set-Aside (Corrections Alliance) $190,980

V. Jail Industries Board $100,000

Total CCH Allocation $3,209,131

a. The funds for “CCH—Coordination” pay for CCH central office staff and direct costs (e.g., telephone, travel, duplication).

b. The funds for “CCH—Career Preparedness” are used in part to fund positions for two staff members who provide offender job preparationand search services in a Seattle work release center and a day reporting center. The CCH—Career Preparedness funds also supplement theCCH—Coordination funds to support central office staff salaries and direct costs.

Program Focus 15

PROGRAM FOCUS

Exhibit 4. Ex-Offender Work Orientation Program enrollments, placements, and upgrades,1989–97

1,400

1,200

1,000

800

600

400

200

01989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97

80 130 119152 146

168137

151

354

520

418

548

658

842

679

776

489535

641

789

981

1,077 1,057

1,312Enrollments

Placements

Upgrades

Fiscal Year

resources into every institution and toassist releasees in every county in Wash-ington. In this regard, Jacques expressessome reluctance about CCH developingtoo large a staff and “becoming anotherbig State agency.” He says: “I wouldrather see us as a small, streamlined cata-lyst for change rather than a big divisionproviding ‘cookie cutter’ employmentservices in a large State employmentdepartment.”

Replicating theCCH ModelAccording to Jacques, there are severalkeys to a successful CCH-type program:

● Make sure the top clearinghouse ad-ministrators know about security and

public safety; that is of paramountimportance in any program run in acorrectional facility.

● Bring every possible participant to thetable, even the naysayers, and see howthey can become involved.

● Develop a tendency to “go for it”:always ask, “Why not?” not “Why?”

Given the multiplicity and geographicdispersion of CCH activities, how cananother jurisdiction begin to replicateCCH? According to Jacques: “Begin at thebeginning and the end—with assessmentand job placement—then move toward themiddle.” The necessary tasks include thefollowing:

● Administer an employability assess-ment at the reception unit, ideally withevery inmate. Use the results to helpthe department of corrections decidewhat training and work programs areneeded, to target inmates with inappro-priate attitudes toward work foremployability training, and to matchinmates with appropriate work withinthe institutions.

● At the other end of the continuum,create immediate results by providinga job placement component throughcommunity-based organizations thatare already doing similar work.

● Fill in the middle over time withpreemployment training and otherneeded institutional and postreleaseactivities.

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The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) andthe National Institute of Corrections (NIC)of the U.S. Department of Justice, as well asthe U.S. Department of Education Office ofCorrectional Education (OCE), have indi-vidually and jointly sponsored the followingpublications that may be of interest to em-ployment and corrections professionals whoare involved in offender job training, place-ment, and retention. For a free copy of thesepublications, write the National CriminalJustice Reference Service (NCJRS) at Box6000, Rockville, MD 20849–6000. You mayalso call NCJRS at 800–851–3420 or sendan e-mail to [email protected].

Related Publications of Interest

Work in American Prisons: Joint Ventures Withthe Private Sector, Program Focus, 1995 (NCJ156215).

Project Re-Enterprise: A Texas Program, Pro-gram Focus, 1996 (NCJ 161448).

Work Release: Recidivism and Corrections Costsin Washington State, Research in Brief, 1996(NCJ 163706).

Labor Markets, Employment, and Crime, Re-search in Progress Preview, 1997 (FS 000166).

The Orange County, Florida, Jail Educationaland Vocational Programs, Program Focus, 1997(NCJ 166820).

Successful Job Placement for Ex-Offenders:The Center for Employment Opportunities,Program Focus, 1998 (NCJ 168102).

Texas’ Project RIO (Re-Integration of Of-fenders), Program Focus, 1998 (NCJ 168637).

Chicago’s Safer Foundation: A Road Backfor Ex-Offenders, Program Focus, 1998 (NCJ167575).

The Delaware Department of Correction LifeSkills Program, Program Focus, 1998 (NCJ169589).

Jacques believes that the CCH concept “isreplicable anywhere at either the State orlocal level if you define the concept not asa single program shouldering the entireburden for service delivery but as the ideaof helping offenders become employablethrough any available resources andmeans.”4 (See “Resources for Replicatingthe Corrections Clearinghouse.”) But,Jacques adds:

It takes someone willing to make it hisor her mission to link different agen-cies together to achieve the commongoal of reducing recidivism. It alsorequires collaborators who don’t an-

swer, “No,” to new ideas but [who]have a frame of mind that instead says,“Why not?” unless they can find alegitimate reason for saying “No.”

Among the “yessayers” in WashingtonState were the DOC Secretary, the DeputyCommissioner of Employment Security,and superintendents of individual DOCfacilities. CCH has also been fortunate todeal with legislators who support inmateprogramming.

“There’s nothing unique to WashingtonState about all this,” Jacques continues.“There are talented people in every State

with initiative and desire to do this.” Andwhile Jacques was fortunate enough tohave a background in corrections andemployment services, he says: “You couldalso run a clearinghouse with two peoplecodirecting it—a DOC and [an] Employ-ment Security person.” Furthermore,legislators usually can be found in mostjurisdictions who have, or can be helpedto develop, a keen interest in correctionalprogramming. This has been the case inthe States of Delaware and Texas, andOrange County (Orlando), Florida. (See“Related Publications of Interest” and“The Corrections Clearinghouse inContext.”)

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The Corrections Clearinghouse (CCH) pro-vides services both within institutions—jobpreparation courses—and after release—jobsearch assistance. What evidence is therethat either of these approaches reducesrecidivism?

Institutional education programs

A large number of studies have examinedwhether educational programs for inmates—some of which include job preparation com-ponents—reduce recidivism. However, mostof these studies have been inconclusive be-cause of methodological weaknesses, suchas use of small samples, short postreleasefollowup periods, failure to assign inmatesrandomly to treatment and control groups,and inadequate statistical tests to ensure thatthe findings did not occur by chance. As aresult, the researchers could not prove thatthe reason the inmates did not commit newcrimes was because the programs changedthe inmates’ behavior. Inmates who enrolledin the programs may have been so highlymotivated to succeed that most of them wouldnot have reoffended even if they had notparticipated in the programs.a

Nevertheless, several studies that were moremethodologically sound suggest that at leastsome educational programs may reduce re-cidivism for some inmates:

● A study of Federal inmates that attemptedto control for selection bias found thatinmates who participated in prison educa-tion programs were less likely to reoffend.b

● A study of Wisconsin inmates concludedthat prison education programs are costeffective because they reduce recidivismor increase the time period before releaseesreturn to prison.c

● A review of seven recidivism studies thatused control groups, statistical controls,and tests of significance reported that

The Corrections Clearinghouse in Context

three of the studies found no relationshipbetween participation in institutional educa-tion programs and recidivism, but fourshowed strong relationships.d

The U.S. Department of Education Office ofCorrectional Education and the CorrectionalEducation Association are working jointly on aproject that is examining the impact of correc-tional education on recidivism rates. This 30-month study’s sample includes every personscheduled to leave three State correctional sys-tems (Maryland, Minnesota, and Ohio) over thecourse of several weeks. Each State will ran-domly select 1,000 inmates who are within 3months of release, regardless of whether theyparticipated in educational programming, to com-pare the postrelease success of those who par-ticipated with those who did not.

The project will consist of two data collectionphases:

● The first phase will include giving the Test ofAdult Basic Education (TABE) to each mem-ber of the cohort as a means of establishingacademic competencies. This testing will befollowed by surveys of each member of thecohort regarding his or her personal charac-teristics, family situation, education experi-ences, and involvement in drug and alcoholtreatment.

● The second phase of data collection willinvolve searches of local, State, and nationalcrime information databases for rearrest andreincarceration rates. This phase will includesurveys of probation and parole staff to de-termine the success rate of a sample of thestudy participants in obtaining and retainingemployment.

Job placement

Most evaluations of programs designed to re-duce recidivism through job placement havealso had methodological weaknesses.e Studies

with adequate designs have not usually foundthat ex-offenders who find jobs are less likelythan other offenders to commit new crimes.For example, a controlled experiment at 16Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) sitesfailed to find evidence of positive effects onsubsequent arrests for out-of-school youthswith arrest records.f

By contrast, a study of the use of incomesupplements,g as well as other research, foundthat ex-offenders with jobs tend to commitfewer crimes than ex-offenders without jobs,and those with higher earnings commit fewercrimes than those with lower earnings. Fur-thermore, a 1992 study of Project RIO (Re-Integration of Offenders),h a statewide pro-gram run by the Texas Workforce Commis-sion that provides job placement services tomore than 15,000 parolees each year, foundthat during the year after release only 48percent of high-risk RIO participants wererearrested, compared with 57 percent ofnonprogram high-risk parolees; 23 percent ofthe RIO participants were reincarcerated,compared with 38 percent of non-RIO parol-ees. Although parolees in the study were notassigned randomly to control and treatmentgroups, the two groups of ex-offenders stud-ied had similar demographic characteristicsand risks of reoffending.

Related research

The National Center on Addiction and Sub-stance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia Univer-sity has developed the Opportunity to Suc-ceed (OPTS) program, which is designed toreduce substance abuse relapse and criminalrecidivism by providing comprehensive af-tercare services to felony offenders with his-tories of alcohol and drug offenses. Aftercareservices include mandatory treatment, em-ployability training, placement in drug-freehousing, family intervention services, andmedical and mental health services.

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The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation hasfunded five OPTS demonstration programsand, with the National Institute of Justice(NIJ), has provided funding to The UrbanInstitute to evaluate the program’s effective-ness. The OPTS evaluation collected self-reported information from a sample of 398substance abusing felony offenders who hadbeen randomly assigned to either OPTS orroutine supervision (standard services typi-cally associated with probation and parole).A preliminary analysis of 261 cases (139OPTS clients and 122 routine supervisioncases) resulted in the following statisticallysignificant findings:

● Eighty-two percent of the OPTS group,compared with 73 percent of the routinesupervision group, had a full-time jobduring their first year of community-basedsupervision.

● OPTS clients were employed full time foran average of 6.4 months during their firstyear, compared with 5.1 months for theroutine supervision group.

● More OPTS clients than persons in rou-tine supervision reported improvementsin their ability to identify job openings,complete job applications, and success-fully interview. More also reported im-provements in job-related behavior, suchas consistently arriving on time for workand receiving positive reviews or increasedresponsibilities because they were doing agood job.i

Two carefully designed evaluations of Wash-ington State’s work release program, bothsponsored by NIJ and conducted between1991 and 1994, found that the program didnot reduce offender recidivism. However, the

program achieved its most important goal—preparing inmates for final release and facilitat-ing their successful transition to the community.While in the program, most of these inmatesmaintained employment, reconnected with theirlocal communities, paid for their room and board,and remained drug free. Furthermore, the pro-gram did not cost the State more than if thereleasees had remained in prison.j

Notes

a. There are several reviews of the availableresearch. For example, see Bushway, S., and P.Reuter, “Labor Markets and Crime Risk Fac-tors,” in Preventing Crime: What Works, WhatDoesn’t, What’s Promising, ed. L. Sherman, D.Gottfredson, D. MacKenzie, J. Eck, P. Reuter,and S. Bushway, Washington, D.C.: U.S. De-partment of Justice, Office of Justice Programs,1997, NCJ 165366; Flanagan, T.J., “Prison Edu-cation Research Project Final Report,” Hunts-ville, Texas: Sam Houston State University,1994; and Office of Correctional Education,“Recidivism Study Summaries,” Washington,D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, n.d.

b. Harer, M.D., “Recidivism Among FederalPrison Releasees in 1987: A Preliminary Re-port,” unpublished paper, Washington, D.C.:U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau ofPrisons, Office of Research and Evaluation,March 1994.

c. Piehl, A.M., “Learning While Doing Time,”unpublished paper, Cambridge, Massachusetts:Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School ofGovernment, April 1994. See also Adams, K.,K.J. Bennett, T.J. Flanagan, J.W. Marquart, S.Cuvelier, E.J. Fritsch, J. Gerber, D.R. Longmire,and V.S. Burton, Jr., “Large-Scale Multidimen-sional Test of the Effect of Prison Education

Programs on Offenders’ Behavior,” PrisonJournal 74(4) (1994): 433–449; Gerber, J.,and E.J. Fritsch, “Adult Academic and Voca-tional Correctional Education Programs: AReview of Recent Research,” Journal of Of-fender Rehabilitation 22(1/2) (1995): 119–142; and Flanagan, Prison Education ResearchProject Final Report.

d. Gerber and Fritsch, “Adult Academic andVocational Correctional Education Programs:A Review of Recent Research.”

e. Sherman et al., Preventing Crime: WhatWorks, What Doesn’t, What’s Promising.

f. Bloom, H., L.O. Orr, G. Cave, S.H. Bell, F.Doolittle, and W. Lin, “The National JTPAStudy: Overview: Impacts, Benefits and Costsof Title II–A,” Cambridge, Massachusetts:Abt Associates Inc., 1994.

g. Berk, R.A., J.J. Lenihan, and R.H. Rossi,“Crime and Poverty: Some Experimental Evi-dence from Ex-Offenders,” American Socio-logical Review 45 (1980): 766–786.

h. Menon, R., C. Blakely, D. Carmichael, andL. Silver, An Evaluation of Project RIO Out-comes: An Evaluation Report, College Sta-tion, Texas: Texas A&M University, PublicPolicy Resources Laboratory, July 1992.

i. Rossman, S., S. Sridharan, and G. Buck,“The Impact of the Opportunity to SucceedProgram on Employment Success,” NationalInstitute of Justice Journal 236 (1998):14–20.

j. Turner, S., and J. Petersilia, Work Release:Recidivism and Corrections Costs in Wash-ington State, Research in Brief, Washington,D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, NationalInstitute of Justice, 1996, NCJ 163706.

Program Focus 19

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Resources for Replicating the Corrections ClearinghouseFor program literature describing theCorrections Clearinghouse and telephoneconsultation regarding how to replicate theprogram, contact:

Douglas JacquesDirectorCorrections ClearinghouseWashington State Employment SecurityDepartment605 Woodland Square Loop S.E.P.O. Box 9046Olympia, WA 98507–9046Telephone: 360–438–4060Fax: 360–438–3216

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is theprincipal research, evaluation, and develop-ment agency of the U.S. Department of Jus-tice. For information about NIJ’s efforts incorrections, program development, andcorporate partnership development, contact:

Development DivisionNational Institute of Justice810 Seventh Street N.W.Washington, DC 20531Telephone: 202–514–6686Fax: 202–307–6256

Visit NIJ’s Web site (www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij)for the latest information on NIJ research,programs, and grant opportunities.

NIJ established the National Criminal JusticeReference Service (NCJRS) in 1972 to serveas a national and international clearinghousefor the exchange of criminal justice informa-tion. For more information about topicalsearches, bibliographies, custom searches, andother available services, contact:

NCJRSP.O. Box 6000Rockville, MD 20849–6000

Telephone: 800–851–3420 (8:30 a.m. to 7p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday throughFriday)

For specific criminal justice questions or re-quests via the Internet, send an e-mail messageto [email protected].

The National Institute of Corrections (NIC)offers literature searches and free technical as-sistance on inmate programming. For more in-formation, contact:

NIC Information CenterNational Institute of Corrections1960 Industrial Circle, Suite ALongmont, CO 80501Telephone: 800–877–1461

The Office of Correctional Job Training andPlacement within NIC was created in March1995 to:

● Cooperate with and coordinate the efforts ofother Federal agencies in the areas of jobtraining and placement.

● Collect and disseminate information on of-fender job training and placement programs,accomplishments, and employment outcomes.

● Provide training to develop staff competenciesin working with offenders and ex-offenders.

● Provide technical assistance to State andlocal training and employment agencies.

For more information, contact:

John MooreCoordinatorOffice of Correctional Job Training andPlacementNational Institute of Corrections320 First Street N.W.Washington, DC 20534Telephone: 800–995–6423, Ext. 147

The Office of Correctional Education (OCE)within the U.S. Department of Education wascreated by Congress in 1991 to provide techni-cal assistance, grant funding, and research datato the corrections and correctional educationfields. To speak with a program specialist or beplaced on OCE’s mailing list to receive grant

announcements, OCE’s quarterly newsletter,and other publications, contact:

Office of Correctional EducationOffice of Vocational and Adult EducationU.S. Department of Education400 Maryland Avenue S.W.MES 4529Washington, DC 20202–7242Telephone: 202–205–5621Fax: 202–401–2615URL: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/OCE

The Correctional Education Association(CEA) is affiliated with the American Cor-rectional Association as an international pro-fessional organization serving education pro-gram needs within the field of corrections.Membership includes teachers and other com-munity corrections programs. Members re-ceive quarterly journals and newsletters, anannual directory, and a yearbook. Annualconferences are held in each of CEA’s nineregions and many of its State chapters. One ofthe regions hosts an international conferencethat features a variety of workshops regardingsuccessful strategies. For more information,call 301–918–1915.

The National Association of Workforce De-velopment Professionals is the membershiporganization that represents all individualsinvolved in workforce development.Workforce development professionals assistindividuals in identifying, attaining, and main-taining employment and self-sufficiency. Formore information, contact:

C. Paul MendezExecutive DirectorNational Association of WorkforceDevelopment Professionals1620 Eye Street N.W.Washington, DC 20006–4005Telephone: 202–887–6120Fax: 202–887–8216E-mail: [email protected]

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PRESORTED STANDARDPOSTAGE & FEES PAID

DOJ/NIJPERMIT NO. G–91

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

National Institute of Justice

Washington, DC 20531

Official Business

Penalty for Private Use $300

Notes1. Technically, “ex-offenders” who are inwork release are still inmates because theyare living in a Department of Correctionsinstitution. Furthermore, a small propor-tion of these work release inmates neverbecome ex-offenders—they fail the workrelease program and return to regularprison.

2. While it may seem as if CCH is reachingonly a small portion of all inmates, as An-thony Clarke, Program Manager, pointsout: “You have to remember that mostinmates either are not eligible to participatebecause of their security level [e.g., admin-istrative segregation] or refuse to partici-pate because they are not interested or havemore attractive institutional opportunities[e.g., paid work assignments].”

3. In future research, it is essential for theprogram to learn whether ex-offenderswho are assessed by CCH while incarcer-ated are more successful in securing andmaintaining employment after releasethan ex-offenders who have not beenassessed.

NCJ 174441 July 1999

4. According to Anthony Clarke: “TheCorrections Clearinghouse’s budget is forcoordination. If another jurisdiction wereto replicate the program, it should keepthe word coordination in the budget au-thorization because it is broad enough tocover all kinds of useful interactions.”

This Program Focus was prepared byPeter Finn, Research Associate, AbtAssociates Inc. This project was sup-ported by NIJ contract numberOJP–94–C–007.

About This Study

The National Institute of Justice is acomponent of the Office of Justice Pro-grams, which also includes the Bureau ofJustice Assistance, the Bureau of JusticeStatistics, the Office of Juvenile Justiceand Delinquency Prevention, and theOffice for Victims of Crime.

The National Institute of Corrections is acomponent of the Federal Bureau ofPrisons.

The Office of Correctional Education is adivision of the Office of Vocational andAdult Education, U.S. Department ofEducation.

This and other NIJ publications can befound at and downloaded from the NIJWeb site (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij).

On the cover: Louis Montano, a Correc-tions Clearinghouse Employment Special-ist at Airway Heights Corrections Centernear Spokane, offers advice to an inmateabout a community job opportunity de-scribed in the Employment SecurityDepartment’s job bank.

All photos by Rick Singer Photography.

Findings and conclusions of the researchreported here are those of the author anddo not necessarily reflect the official posi-tion or policies of the U.S. Department ofJustice.