Assignment 2

Liberal Arts Capstone

Steven Solis

Assignment 1

Prof. Argen

Finding Employment After Prison

November 18, 2019

Part 1: Outline

 Introduction

     A.  Thesis statement: Lack of employment opportunities and economic insecurity that make them unfit for the society.

         1. 1st major point: Ex-prisoners are discriminated by the people of society that undermine their efforts of becoming part of the same society.

         2. 2nd major point: Being convicted of felony in the past ban them from engaging in job occupations.

         3. 3rd major point: Lack of support from society increase the risks of re-offense or recidivism.

II.  1st major point: By offering education to offenders in prison and job security they are encouraged to become good citizens.

      A. Supporting detail

         1. Government has implemented education program for prisoners that are focused on teaching the strategies for overcoming offensive behaviors.

         2. Evidence reveals that prisoners who were part of education programs changed their behaviors CITATION Joh101 \l 1033 (Esperian, 2010).

         3. Prison education is an effective tool of eliminating the possibilities of recidivism CITATION Joh101 \l 1033 (Esperian, 2010).

      B. Supporting detail

         1. Provision of job security is linked with improved behavior of ex-prisoners.

         2. Worker programs for ex-prisoner had positive impact on changing their personalities (Visher et al).

         3. Job provides hope and security to the ex-offenders (Visher et al).

      C. Supporting detail

         1. Supporting ex-offenders is responsibility of the state that help them in adjusting to the society and starting normal lives.

         2. People who complete their imprisonment need more financial and moral support (Pager).

         3. Evidence suggests that ex-offenders who were supported morally refrained from committing future crimes CITATION Mar1811 \l 1033 (Liem & Weggemans, 2018).

III.  2nd major point: Lack of access to resources undermine ex-offenders efforts of becoming good citizens.

      A. Supporting detail

         1. The factors that encourage released prisoners to re-commit crimes is lack of access to food and housing CITATION Mar1811 \l 1033 (Liem & Weggemans, 2018).

         2. Evidence depicts the ex-offenders who are socio-economically deprived are more likely to commit crimes CITATION Joh101 \l 1033 (Esperian, 2010).

         3. Food and shelter are two common factors for released prisoners to start a normal life (Visher et al).

      B. Supporting detail

         1. To promote positive behavior among ex-offenders it is essential to offer them opportunities of better lifestyles. This is because offenders who live in slumps or deprived neighborhoods are more re-engage in criminal activities CITATION Joh101 \l 1033 (Esperian, 2010).

         2. Ex-offenders are encouraged to reoffend when they lack access to various economic and social resources CITATION Mar1811 \l 1033 (Liem & Weggemans, 2018).

         3.Offenders after release develop negative emotions is they are not given resources for survival that are apparent in the form of hatred CITATION Mar1811 \l 1033 (Liem & Weggemans, 2018).

   IV.  3rd major point: Having access to secured identification prior to release removes the anticipated barriers to employment.

      A. Supporting detail

         1. It is crucial to make arrangements of employment before offenders are released from jails. Having jobs encourage them to participate in productive activities that disconnect from crimes (Visher et al).

         2. Tax reduction and credits, liability protection as well as bonding programs have positive impact on the personality building of ex-offenders CITATION Joh101 \l 1033 (Esperian, 2010).

         3.Removal of legal barriers for ex-offenders is an effective strategy for encouraging them to quit offensive behaviors (Petersilia, 2003).

      B. Supporting detail

         1.The states strategy of enforcing reforms for employment is linked to the positive behavior of ex-offenders (Pager).

         2. Paroles are effective only when the released offenders are guaranteed employment.

         3.Governments that invest in the skills development of ex-offenders open more job opportunities for them CITATION Mar1811 \l 1033 (Liem & Weggemans, 2018).

V.  Conclusion

     A.  Summary statement: The state can take initiative to provide better survival opportunities to ex-offenders.

         1. Through provision of jobs and economic security it is possible to eliminate the possibilities of recidivism.

         2. Access to economic resources and basic necessities minimize the threats of re-offense.

         3. Offenders when given better opportunities of survival such as through education programs will quit offensive attitudes.

Part 2: Narrative

Scope of project: The project is focused on identifying that factors that could play positive role in transforming the ex-offenders. The involvement of state in the education program and reforms for job security will be an effective strategy of changing behaviors of offenders that will prevent them from recidivism. During this research I attempted to explore the factors that could impact behavior of offenders and help in reducing crime rates. The topic is neither too broad because it specifically addressing the economic insecurity and employment related issues that makes it difficult for fitting in the society. The topic is not too narrow because it is discussing the behavior and issue of changing offensive behaviors in general.

Key concepts: The study has researched the key concepts of the existing employment reforms and laws for the conditionally and permanently released ex-offenders. It will future research the community programs that are existing for supporting offenders in becoming part of the community. These concepts are related to the research question because they help in evaluating the existing laws and reforms that impact the choices of offenders.

Sources for information: Database like CINAHL, EBSCOHost are researched for collecting data on the topic. The selected sources for the research include journals, articles and case studies. Only credible sources are selected for determining the evidence for the research question. The evidence collected from the scholarly articles is directly linked to the research because it confirm the positive impact of employment and economic stability on ex-offenders.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY Esperian, J. H. (2010). The Effect of Prison Education Programs on Recidivism . Journal of Correctional Education , 61 (4), 316-334.

Liem, M., & Weggemans, D. (2018). Reintegration Among High-Profile Ex-Offenders . J Dev Life Course Crimin , 4 (4), 473–49.

Pager, Devah. Marked: Race, crime, and finding work in an era of mass incarceration. University of Chicago Press, 2008.

Petersilia, Joan. When prisoners come home: Parole and prisoner reentry. Oxford University Press, 2003.

Skarðhamar, Torbjørn, and Kjetil Telle. "Life after prison: The relationship between employment and re-incarceration." (2009).

Visher, Christy A., Laura Winterfield, and Mark B. Coggeshall. "Ex-offender employment programs and recidivism: A meta-analysis." Journal of Experimental Criminology 1.3 (2005): 295-316.

Visher, Christy A., Sara A. Debus-Sherrill, and Jennifer Yahner. "Employment after prison: A longitudinal study of former prisoners." Justice Quarterly 28.5 (2011): 698-718.