Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

This paper will review new results from random assignment evaluations of 3 subsidized employment programs targeting individuals recently released from prison; the programs were part of the Department of Labor's 7-site Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration.  The paper will describe the programs' impacts on both employment outcomes and recidivism. The paper will present these new findings in the context of several earlier evaluations of subsidized employment programs for ex-prisoners, and will draw cross-cutting lessons from all of these studies about the connection between subsidized employment and recidivism. The paper is highly policy relevant because subsidized employment is considered a promising approach for reentry programs, but the evaluations have shown that only some models lead to reductions in recidivism.  The paper will explore the factors that appear to explain why some programs generate these impacts and others do not.