NCJ Number
59743
Date Published
1978
Length
125 pages
Annotation
THIS EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF A RANDOMIZED SAMPLE OF EX-OFFENDERS WAS CONDUCTED TO TEST THE EFFECT OF FINANCIAL AID AND JOB PLACEMENT ON THE RATES OF REARREST AND UNEMPLOYMENT DURING THE FIRST YEAR AFTER RELEASE.
Abstract
THE TRANSITIONAL AID RESEARCH PROJECT (TARP), AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY THAT TOOK PLACE IN GEORGIA, WAS AIMED AT REDUCING RECIDIVISM ESPECIALLY AS IT PERTAINED TO ECONOMICALLY RELATED CRIMINAL ACTS. THE SUBJECTS STUDIED WERE DIVIDED INTO SIX GROUPS--MEMBERS OF THE FIRST THREE GROUPS WERE ELIGIBLE FOR VARIOUS AMOUNTS OF FINANCIAL AID WHILE MEMBERS OF THE OTHER THREE GROUPS WERE NOT ELIGIBLE. INSTEAD, MEMBERS OF THE FOURTH GROUP WERE OFFERED SPECIAL JOB COUNSELING WITH EXTRA BENEFITS SUCH AS WORK CLOTHES, WORK EQUIPMENT, AND TRANSPORTATION. THE FOURTH AND FIFTH GROUPS WERE PAID $15 PER PERSON FOR COMPLETING AN INITIAL INTERVIEW. THE LAST GROUP WAS TRACED THROUGH RECORDS IN PUBLIC OFFICES AND DID NOT ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE. STRATIFICATION AND RANDOMIZATION PRODUCED A SAMPLE OF 2,007 EX-OFFENDERS WHO HAD BEEN RELEASED FROM PRISON BETWEEN JANUARY 1, 1976, AND JULY 18, 1976. THE SIZE OF THE 6 GROUPS VARIED, BUT THE FIRST 5 HAD ABOUT 200 INDIVIDUALS EACH WHILE THE SIXTH HAD 1,031. STUDY RESULTS INDICATE THAT AT NO TIME WERE MORE THAN 50 PERCENT OF THE SAMPLE GAINFULLY EMPLOYED; HALF OF THE WORKING GROUP EARNED LESS THAN $1,855 DURING THE PROJECT YEAR. AMONG THE UNEMPLOYED, TWO OUT OF THREE ARRESTS INVOLVED MONEY-RELATED CHARGES. THE DATA INDICATE A SINGLE RECOMMENDATION: READY-MADE JOBS. IF SUCH A PROGRAM WERE UNDERTAKEN, IT WOULD REQUIRE CAREFUL MONITORING BY A PLACEMENT AGENT. THE JOBS COULD BE SUBSIDIZED TO ENCOURAGE EMPLOYER PARTICIPATION AND TO TEST THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TRANSITIONAL AID CHANNELED THROUGH AN INTERMEDIARY. TARP DID NOT PROVIDE ANY POSITIVE ANSWERS BUT DID REVEAL OTHER POSSIBLE AREAS OF INQUIRY. TABULAR DATA, FIGURES, FOOTNOTES, AND APPENDIXES ARE INCLUDED. (PRG)