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Research Update Barriers to Employment: Prison Time

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Employment and Training Institute has prepared a series of research papers supported by Legal Action of Wisconsin and the Private Industry Council of Milwaukee County to assess the legal and employment needs of Milwaukee County residents who have been incarcerated in Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) facilities. Shortly after the first ETI prison study was issued, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle appointed a Commission on Reducing Racial Disparities in the Wisconsin Justice System. Based on the Commission findings, in May 2008 Governor Doyle issued an Executive Order 251 to address racial disparities in the state prison population and to address issues also identified in the ETI studies including ensuring the prisoners restore their driving privileges prior to release. 37,080 Milwaukee County Residents Have Been Incarcerated by the State A report on Barriers to Employment: Prison Time analyzed state Department of Corrections records showing 26,772 adults released from Wisconsin correctional facilities since 1993 and another 10,308 residents still incarcerated as of June 2006. Among the findings: Milwaukee County has seen almost a 400% increase in the number of prisoners released from state prisons annually. The population is mostly male (89%) and minority (73%). The rapidly increasing number of persons incarcerated in DOC facilities has led to a disproportionate impact on young African American males. State corrections data show that 40% African American males ages 25 through 29 who currently live in Milwaukee County have spent time in Wisconsin state correctional facilities. By contrast, only 5% of white and 5% of Hispanic males of that age group have done time in DOC facilities.

State Incarceration Rates for Milwaukee County Men Ages 25-29 African Americans: 2 in 5 Hispanics: 1 in 20 Whites: 1 in 20

Additional men have been incarcerated in city and county jail. Only 7% of the released prison population showed records of a valid driver's license without recent suspensions or revocations -- leaving the vast majority unable to legally drive to jobs in the metro area. Education levels are very low, particularly for younger minority populations newly released. For Hispanics, 72% had failed to complete high school, as had 60% of African Americans and 37% of whites. Nearly 2 out of 3 Young Men in African American Poverty Neighborhoods Have Been Incarcerated A drilldown report on Milwaukee's ZIP code area 53206, arguably the poorest neighborhood in the state, finds alarming rates of incarceration of men in state prison. The neighborhood population is 97% African American. By the time men reach ages 30-34, nearly two-thirds (62%) of men from zipcode 53206 have been incarcerated in state DOC facilities or are currently serving time, according to a first-time analysis of the population of adults incarcerated in DOC facilities (from January 1993 through June 2006). Many of the adults released subsequently return to prison. Recidivism rates of 53% were reported for those ages 25-34. This neighborhood has seen a 336% increase in the number of adults released from prison since 1993 when 201 were released, to 879 released in 2005. The number serving time and released for "drug offenses only" has increased five-fold, from 43 in 1993 to 255 in 2005. The zipcode 53206 drilldown report reveals interrelationships between high incarceration rates, increases in single parent families, stagnant income levels of employed residents, and high involvement in the subprime mortgage crisis. The research suggests that this neighborhood, decimated by high prison rates and absence of working age males, has utilized subprime and high-interest rate lending as an income source as well as an opportunity to purchase homes (as owner-occupants and landlords) and to refinance mortgages to help pay off credit card and other debts. No neighborhood appears more at-risk of foreclosures and economic fallout from the housing crisis and lack of jobs. See also the UWM feature article describing the history of ETI's neighborhood research on ZIP code 53206 and a May 2006 WUWM public radio segment on "Youth Violence in ZIP Code 53206".

Improvements Are Needed in WIA Programs for Ex-Offenders In 2007 the Employment and Training Institute conducted a technical assistance project for the Private Industry Council to assist the Workforce Investment Board to improve delivery of job training services to Milwaukee County clients. The EARN (Early Assessment and Retention Network) Model for Effectively Targeting WIA and TANF Resources to Participants reviewed the WIA track record for delivery of services to ex-offenders. Among the findings: The worst employment and earnings outcomes are for the growing number of Workforce Investment Act (WIA) participants with records of incarceration in state correctional facilities. Only 7% of WIA clients with a history of state incarceration had a valid driver's license. Measures of post-program employment of ex-cons are dismal -- with only 15% employed with earnings above family poverty in the first quarter after exiting WIA. This percentage drops to 9% in the second quarter after leaving WIA. Only 13% of the ex-cons worked in each of the 8 quarters after leaving WIA. While employment outcomes are better for ex-cons with more education, all groups showed declines in employment after exiting WIA programs. About 2/3 (65%) of those with more than 12 years of schooling show at least some earnings in the first 2 quarters after exiting WIA, compared with only 40% of those with less than 12 years of schooling and 51% of those with 12 years of schooling.

Recommendations A first priority for WIA and TANF programs should be adoption of the EARN Model to more effectively target services to ex-offenders and residents with driver's license problems. The WIA and TANF agencies should use state Department of Corrections data to identify the growing numbers of participants with histories of incarceration in state prisons, and this population should be treated as the highest risk population. Similarly, current probation and parole databases should be accessed to make sure that DOC probation and parole reporting requirements DO NOT conflict with employment. There is no quick fix for this population. The state Department of Corrections should assess the driver's license status of prisoners immediately upon their entry to the DOC facilities as part of an employability plan to target those likely to benefit from license restoration initiatives. Those prisoners should be identified who will be required to serve a waiting period after application for their driver's license so that the application wait period can be served during incarceration in the DOC facility. The state Department of Corrections should redirect existing remediation and reentry resources to launch an in-house driver's license restoration initiative which would include preparing inmates to the take the written driver's license test, allow inmates to apply for a driver's license if they do not have a current license, assign Department of Transportation staff to administer the driver's license written test prior to release, schedule appointments for the road test immediately upon release, and create a way for inmates to work off reinstatement and application fees and outstanding fines through prison work programs or points for good behavior. The state Department of Workforce Development should regularly document the pre- and post-employment experiences of adults released from and admitted to DOC facilities using the state DWD wage match data to gauge the effectiveness of post-release employment initiatives and to identify populations most likely to benefit from pre-employment and driver's license initiatives. The City of Milwaukee should examine the negative cost impact of City imposed suspension-related fines for both the released and incarcerated populations. The City of Milwaukee is responsible for most of the driver's license suspensions in Milwaukee County, using suspension orders for failures to pay fines not related to serious driving violations. Leadership and coordination between the Department of Corrections, Department of Workforce Development, Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board, and community partners are necessary to target sufficient direct services to the DOC population in Milwaukee County. Given the concentration of ex-offenders in Milwaukee, increased funding is needed for education and training support for Milwaukee residents who are ex-offenders. Background Released prisoners are one of the most difficult populations to serve in jobs programs and least likely to be successfully engaged in sustained employment due to persistent legal problems, low education attainment levels, high recidivism rates, and driver's license suspension and revocation problems. The stigma of being an ex-inmate alone and the limitations this places on those released and expected to become gainfully employed are compounded by further legal sanctions place on those who have spent time in correctional facilities. Parents and non-parents released from DOC facilities face major barriers which impact their chances of reuniting with their families and securing regular employment. These barriers include: Housing barriers face those relased from prison and applying for public housing subsidies. Some may not be eligible at all for subsidized housing, while others are subject to the practice of sharing criminal records with Section 8 landlords. Education barriers have been instituted for the population of felons with drug-related convictions which prevent them from obtaining Pell grants to attend vocational classes, college and other post-secondary education programs. Income maintenance barriers are most severe for those with drug convictions, making them ineligible for food stamps or TANF services. The driver's license status and low educational levels of the prison populations stand in sharp contrast to the limited number of jobs available in the neighborhoods where most prisoners are released. The most recent Milwaukee area employer job survey (conducted by the Employment and Training Institute for the Private Industry Council of Milwaukee County in May 2006) found that three-fourths of the job openings in the metro area were located in areas not easily accessed by public transportation. In the CDBG (Community Development Block Grant-targeted) central city Milwaukee neighborhoods where most prisoners are released, the survey showed a job gap of 7 to 1, that is, 7 jobseekers for every 1 full-time job available. Further, ex-offenders seeking work in these (and other) neighborhoods must compete with jobseekers who have a valid driver's license and who do not have a prison record.

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