Assumptions and Achievements of Manpower Programs for Offenders - Implications for Supported Work

• NCJ Number: 74835
• Author(s): I Piliavin; R Gartner
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 39 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC)
• Corporate Author: University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Sale Source: Eric Document Reproduction Service; Not Available Through National Institute of Justice/NCJRS Document Loan Program
• Publication Type: Program Description (Model)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. Discussion paper series

Annotation

This paper details the assumptions guiding the National Supported Work Demonstration (NSWD) and describes the distinctions between NSWD and other manpower and employment programs for ex-offenders.

Abstract

The theoretical linkages between crime, poverty, and unemployment postulated by sociologists and economists are discussed, along with their contributions to intervention policies and programs. A review of manpower programs that have attempted to produce changes in the behavior and lifestyle of ex-offenders through changes in employment opportunities reveals major drawbacks and inconclusive results. These problems provide a basis for the development of several key characteristics of supported work, which reflect both policy suggestions and theoretical explanations. While the potential for success of the NSWD is assumed to derive from its contrast to earlier programs, the paper emphasizes that many barriers exist in any attempt to intervene in the relationship between employment status and crime. Eight notes and approximately 53 references are provided. (Author abstract modified)