Event Recap – Breaking the Incarceration Cycle

By: Claire Tran

On April 18, Jen Doleac visited the Initiative on Cities to lecture on programs and policies to productively incorporate the formerly-incarcerated into their communities. Doleac is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Economics at the Batten School, and Director of the Justice Tech Lab at UVA.

Two thirds of those released from prison will be re-arrested within three years, thus breaking the incarceration cycle should be a top policy priority for cities. Doleac’s talk gave the highlights of a literature review she has been working on, in order to understand what works and acknowledge how much is left to find out.

How does a criminal record affect employment? One study from 2003 found that a white job applicant with a criminal record had a higher chance of being called back for an interview than a black job application with no criminal record. Doleac also noted that many who go through the prison system tend to additionally come from poverty and suffer from substance abuse and mental health problems. Other factors, such as court debt, driver’s license suspensions, or the lack of stable housing also make it difficult to build a stable life after release.

With so many challenges, Doleac stayed positive and focused on the many possible interventions to pursue.

“We should assume that most things we try will fail,” said Doleac. “But we need to keep trying until we figure out what works.”

One key to relieving recidivism may be transitional jobs: temporary (often six-month) employment after release in order to build job skills, often at a non-profit. Though, many studies found that it had no significant long-term effect on employment rates and mostly do not reduce recidivism. New changes to the transitional jobs program, such as pairing with cognitive behavioral therapy or placing jobs in the private sector, are currently being tested for effectiveness.

Another potential solution is Ban the Box, which prevent employers from asking applicants about their criminal record under later in the hiring process. But multiple studies have shown that Ban the Box actually reduces employment opportunities and increased racial disparities between black and white applicants. But rehabilitation certificates, court-issues certificates to signal work-readiness, have been proven to increase access to employment and housing for recently released inmates. Plus, these documents can protect employers and landlords from legal liability.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy to help patients identify negative thinking and respond in an effective way. Many programs for juveniles have been found to reduce recidivism, although some had no effect. Multisystemic therapy (MST) is another form of mental health treatment which includes the family and communities of the targeted youth. MST was found to not only reduce recidivism, but also crime by the family members of the youth. Though, sample sizes are often small, and several of the studies were conducted in Europe, with a much different criminal justice system and context.

With substance abuse, Medicaid expansions have been found to increase access to treatment and reduce crime rates. Therapeutic communities are long-term residential treatments and have also been found to reduce reincarceration for released individuals, though some studies found no effect on current inmates. Providing medication, such as methadone or naltrexone, to soon-to-be or recently released inmates, has been found to have no significant effect on recidivism rates, although the studies’ sample sizes are extremely small.

When attempted to combine multiple programs into one all-inclusive wrap-around service, studies found no effect on reincarceration. Similarly, reducing the amount of required supervision for inmates on probation or parole was found to have no effect on recidivism as well.

Though many emphasize employment as the key to reducing recidivism, studies regarding the effectiveness of transitional jobs or Ban the Box show that the focus may be misguided. Other areas, such as mental health services, substance abuse treatments, and intensive supervision should be pursued in conjunction.