Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Jung, H. (2009). Essays on incarceration and labor market outcomes. (Doctoral dissertation.) Retrieved from ProQuest. Accession No. 305059182.
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to examine the impact of participating in the Adult Transition Centers (ATC) work-release program on employment and earnings outcomes for ex-prisoners in Cook County, Illinois. Prisoners in minimum-security prisons who are nearing their release date and meet certain conditions of criminal history are eligible to apply to transfer to ATCs.
- The study used a nonexperimental design that compared changes in outcomes over time between the treatment group and a matched comparison group. The study used administrative data on prison admission and exit dates from the Illinois Department of Corrections and earnings data from the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
- The study found no statistically significant relationships between the ATC work-release program and employment or earnings.
- The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the author did not ensure that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. This means we would not be confident that any estimated effects would have been attributable to the ATC work-release program; other factors would likely have contributed, though the study did not find statistically significant effects.
Intervention Examined
Adult Transition Center Program
Features of the Intervention
The Illinois Department of Corrections’ ATCs offer eligible inmates an opportunity to live in a secure facility within a residential area to prepare for release on parole. While in the ATC, participants are responsible for performing daily in-house assignments and participating in outside employment, education, life skills, or community service. ATC staff will introduce participants to employers, or program participants can seek employment on their own. Participants meeting certain criteria (including, for example, engaging in 35 hours per week of employment, education, or public service at the first level) can advance to subsequent levels of programming that allow additional privileges (such as leave time to visit family). Eligibility for ATC work-release program services is determined by an application and the number of available beds at the ATC. To be eligible for transfer to ATC, prisoners must be in a minimum-security prison, have no less than two months remaining in their prison term, have not been charged with certain serious crimes including murder or arson, and have no documented involvement in organized crime activities or large-scale narcotics trafficking.
Features of the Study
The study used a nonexperimental design to examine impacts of the ATC program on quarterly employment and earnings outcomes after release from prison. The author compared a treatment group of 6,056 eligible inmates who were selected for ATCs in Cook County, Illinois, with a comparison group of 6,136 inmates who were eligible but did not apply or were not selected for ATCs. These sample individuals were released from prison from 1995 to 2003. Administrative data on demographic characteristics and prison admission and exit dates came from the Illinois Department of Corrections and administrative data on quarterly earnings came from the Illinois Department of Employment Security. The author used statistical analysis (regression modeling) to compare the outcomes of treatment and control group members over time, accounting for differences because of demographic characteristics, calendar quarter and quarters relative to prison entry and exit, offense categories, seriousness of crime, and average individual outcomes (fixed effects). Outcomes were measured on average 21 quarters after release from prison.
Findings
Employment
- The study found no statistically significant relationships between the ATCs and short-term (within two years of release) or long-term (more than two years after release) employment.
Earnings
- The study found no statistically significant relationships between the ATCs and short-term (within two years of release) or long-term (more than two years after release) earnings.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The author did not account for existing differences between the groups in employment and earnings trends at least one year before the program. These existing differences between the groups—and not the ATC work-release program—could explain the observed differences in outcomes.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the author did not ensure that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the ATC work-release program; other factors are likely to have contributed.
Additional Sources
Jung, H. (2014). Do prison work-release programs improve subsequent labor market outcomes? Evidence from the adult transition centers in Illinois. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 53, 384-402. doi: 10.1080/10509674.2014.922.158