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Offender Employment Retention

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Offender workforce development programs should target offenders at high risk for recidivism, address the dynamic influences that predict crime, and provide intervention specific to the needs of the offender. The Employment Retention Initiative supports the development of strength-based programs administered by qualified and well-trained staffs to assess offenders at high risk for job loss, identify specific job loss indicators, and provide support to break the chain of events and/or behaviors that result in termination.

A major component of this initiative is the provision of a competency-based Offender Employment Retention Specialist (OERS) training for individuals involved in offender workforce development. The training, delivered using a combination of both classroom-based and distance learning instruction, is the third course in a series specific to offender workforce development (with Offender Employment Specialist training and Offender Workforce Development Specialist training being the first two courses, respectively). This training builds on the relationship between the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and motivational interviewing (MI) techniques. Combining these two research-based methods helps the offender create a solid foundation for self-exploration, one that helps resolve any ambivalence to change.

In addition, this webpage provides a variety of NIC library and external resources on employment retention.

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Recommended Reading

Date Title Type
2011

NIC Publication
Offender Employment Retention: Worth the Work [Satellite/Internet Broadcast]
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than 700,000 individuals are released from prisons yearly—with an additional 9 million adults cycling through local jails. Research indicates that employment is an important component of successful ... Read More
VIDEO
2010

NIC Publication
The Offender Employment Retention Forum: Meeting Summary
Individuals that work in the offender employment field will find this publication very useful. It discusses “the feasibility of applying a relapse prevention model, inclusive of case management, to workforce retention” (p. 1). Sections of the meeting... Read More
PDF
2008
Pathways to Employment
An offender employment program for probationers in New York is described. Sections of this document are: employment and crime reduction; pathways to employment training -- Employment Matters (EM), Ready, Set, Work!, and Retention Counts! (RC); Offen... Read More
PDF
2006

NIC Publication
Offender Job Retention: A Report from the Offender Workforce Development Division, National Institute of Corrections
Results from a survey of offender employment and retention issues that utilizes close-ended questions regarding topics such as assessment, case management, follow-up, and relapse are analyzed. This report is comprised of the following sections: intr... Read More
PDF
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Related Resources

Date Title Type
1999

NIC Publication
Annotated Bibliography on Offender Job Training and Placement
Nearly 400 items from the collection of the NIC Information Center are listed in this bibliography prepared for NIC's Office of Correctional Job Training and Placement (OCJTP). Citations have been grouped into five categories: vocational education, i... Read More
PDF
2000

NIC Publication
Report to the Congress of the United States on the Activities of the Office of Correctional Job Training and Placement During Fiscal Year 1999
Contents include: introduction; background; status of correctional job training and placement programs in the United States -- Federal Bureau of Prisons, state, and local efforts; national forum; focus groups; office coordination; interagency coordin... Read More
PDF
2001

NIC Publication
Report to the United States Congress on the Activities of the Office of Correctional Job Training and Placement During Fiscal Year 2000 (October 1, 1999, through September 30, 2000)
Highlights of this Office's accomplishments and the status of correctional job training and placement in the U.S. are provided. Contents of this report include: foreword; introduction; background; activities and accomplishments -- office coordinatio... Read More
PDF
1997

NIC Publication
Annotated Bibliography on Offender Job Training and Placement
Developed for the Office of Correctional Job Training and Placement (OCJTP), this bibliography lists more than 300 documents from the collection of the NIC Information Center in Longmont, Colorado. The literature addresses offender job training and p... Read More
PDF
1999

NIC Publication
Report to the Congress of the United States on the Activities of the Office of Correctional Job Training and Placement During Fiscal Year 1998
Referring to the activities conducted during the year, this report covers the status of job training and placement programs, federal agency coordination, training, and public information and clearinghouse activities. Training included offender employ... Read More
PDF
2002

NIC Publication
Corrections Employment Eligibility for Ex-Offenders
Practices of correctional agencies when hiring individuals with criminal histories are examined. This study contains sections about: authority to hire ex-offenders; convictions as a permanent bar to correctional employment; convictions as a temporary... Read More
PDF
2005

NIC Publication
Results of the Offender Workforce Development Specialist Post-Training Survey
Results from a "post-training survey to assess the usability of the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the course [Offender Workforce Development Specialist (OWDS)] content by the participant once they return to the job" are presented (p. 1). An exe... Read More
PDF
2003

NIC Publication
Job Descriptions
"[A] comprehensive list of skills, functions, and duties for use by agencies in developing job descriptions for Offender Employment Specialist (OES), Offender Workforce Development Specialist (OWDS) and Offender Workforce Development Program Manager ... Read More
PDF
2003

NIC Publication
Office of Correctional Job Training and Placement Glossary of Terms
A list of definitions for the most commonly used terms in training programs sponsored by this agency (OCJTP) are provided. ... Read More
PDF
1998

NIC Publication
Chicago's Safer Foundation: A Road Back for Ex-Offenders
The Safer Foundation helps ex-offenders find and hold jobs, and has expanded its focus to provide basic education, life skills training, support for solving social problems, and followup services after placement. Its Programmed Activities for Correct... Read More
PDF
1998

NIC Publication
Texas' Project RIO (Re-Integration of Offenders)
Providing job preparation services to inmates while they are still incarcerated in state prisons, Project RIO also provides job placement services to parolees in every county in Texas. According to a 1992 independent evaluation, a large percentage of... Read More
PDF
1998

NIC Publication
Successful Job Placement for Ex-Offenders: The Center for Employment Opportunities
The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) in New York City provides newly released offenders, primarily boot camp releasees, with a program designed to ease their reintegration into society. This "Program Focus" describes the transition from work... Read More
PDF
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Available Training Opportunities

  • Starts May. 07, 2012 - Offender Employment Retention Specialist (OERS) Training
    The Offender Employment Retention Specialist Training will provide practitioners the knowledge, skill and abilities to develop specialized services and programming for offenders targeted as being at high risk for job loss.
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