Self-Assessment for Employment-Focused Reentry Programs

• NCJ Number: 252725
• Date Published: January 2019
• Length: 8 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2016-MU-BX-K011
• Agencies: BJA-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Technical Assistance); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Evaluation; Program/Project Description

Annotation

This report presents a self-assessment tool for measuring whether an employment-focused reentry program is correctly implementing the "Integrated Reentry and Employment Strategies" (IRES) framework.

Abstract

The IRES, which was developed with support from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, along with guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor, integrates best practices from both the workforce development and corrections field to provide guidance on how to design employment-focused reentry programs that incorporate risk-need-responsivity (RNR) principles. RNR principles are outlined in the current report. The IRES also includes a tool to assist policymakers and practitioners match people to appropriate services and triage limited resources to maximize their impact on recidivism and employment outcomes. The steps to be implemented in this "Resource-Allocation and Service-Matching Tool" are outlined. The self-assessment tool for IRES focuses first on employment program components for improving work outcomes. This involves assessment of the promotion of job readiness for people less ready for employment and assisting with finding and retaining jobs for people who are more ready for employment. The self-assessment tool then addresses employment service-delivery principles for reducing recidivism. This involves assessing a program's capacity to deliver services in a way that impacts recidivism for higher risk participants. 7 tables, 1 figure, and online access to resources for implementing the IRES framework