Persistent unemployment is a critical criminogenic factor linked to higher recidivism rates. In an effort to build career pathways for returning citizens in the trades, the Michigan Department of Corrections designed and operated a first-of-its kind immersive skilled trades training program called the “Vocational Villages” prior to parole within select state prison facilities. These Villages leverage technologies such as virtual reality and robotics to optimize the opportunity to provide the equivalent of master-level trades credentials in 14 different trades. To further enhance employment outcomes for returning citizens who complete the Vocational Villages, we developed and tested the integration of a virtual reality job interview training (VR-JIT; a simulated remote meeting platform) module into the Village curriculum. Building upon prior National Institute of Mental Health-funded randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that demonstrated VR-JIT’s efficacy in improving interview skills and increasing job offer rates in community samples, we initiated a first-of-its-kind RCT within two Vocational Village sites. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of VR-JIT, delivered alongside services-as-usual (SAU), versus SAU alone in promoting employment and reducing recidivism among incarcerated adult males preparing for community re-entry.
The study had three primary aims: (1) to assess whether the addition of VR-JIT to SAU enhanced employment outcomes and reduced recidivism; (2) to investigate the mechanisms influencing employment and recidivism outcomes; and (3) to conduct a multilevel, mixed-method process evaluation to examine the adoptability, acceptability, scalability, feasibility, and implementation costs of VR-JIT within the prison settings. Findings from this study are critical for understanding both the external validity and scalability of VR-JIT as a correctional employment intervention.
The study determined that VR-JIT was effective at improving interview skills, reducing interview anxiety and increasing competitive employment outcomes, while also being viable for broad implementation. Notably, the addition of VR-JIT increased employment by nearly 10% and reduced time-to-employment by nearly 3 weeks. The Vocational Villages alone had a recidivism rate of 0.0% while the VR-JIT group had a recidivism rate of 3.1%. This difference was not significant.
This study suggests that a pragmatic VR-JIT implementation was associated with improved employment outcomes among returning citizens engaged in prison-based employment services. Thus, implementing VR-JIT within vocational services could bridge a critical gap in employment readiness, thereby helping returning citizens to overcome barriers to employment. Future research is needed to expand VR-JIT’s external validity in other correctional settings and identify evidencebased strategies to optimize delivery of VR-JIT within prison-based employment readiness programs.