Prison to Paycheck:
Community Release, Employment Re-Entry and Impacted Recidivism for Offenders with Disabilities
Gordon Swensen, M.S., CRC, OWDS
Randy Loss, M.A., CRC, OWDS
Maine APSE Conference
June 11, 2014
Slide 2
Objectives
Formal networking/partnering will be reviewed and how it can replicated will be discussed
Three (3) vocational/support programs on returning citizens will be discussed for both Pennsylvania and Utah
Attendees will know methods of employer engagement for clients with criminal records.
Slide 3
Tilting at Windmills
How do you view challenges? Do they throw you? [cartoon of man with lance tossed by windmill blade] OR…Are you generating a force? [photo of modern wind farm]
Slide 4
Where Do You Start?
First ask, where do you end?
Goal=Employment (Good for business & VR client)
Defining “Customer Ecology”
What is your resolve?
What role do you play and whenSlide 3
Slide 5
Comfort Level
Who is your customer?
Individual with an Intellectual Disability
Individual in Recovery (Mental Health/Substance Abuse)
Individual seeking community employment
Individual with criminal records
sexual offenses??
Local business/owner
ALL OF THE ABOVE
Slide 6
Layer Upon Layer
Responsibilities of your client with a criminal history:
Legal
Home
Family
Other
What can be done and by who/what?
Where are resources located?
Slide 7
Barriers “Fog” that Impacts Employment
[graphic – Seven circles surrounding central circle, “Employment,” others labeled “Housing, Transportation, Criminal History, Fines and Costs, Supervision, Family Situation, and Identification”]
Slide 8
Additional Barriers to Employment
Cultural/Language
Lack of education
Lack of training
Disability
Criminal Thinking Errors
[graphic – Triangular warning sign, “Work in Progress,” with image of man with shovel]
Slide 9
Criminal Thinking Errors
Understanding the Minds of Offenders in Facilitating positive change and Employment Success
Slide 10
Criminal Thinking (Types)
This information is adapted from “Thinking Errors Defined”, by Tracy E. Barnhart, 2010, on Corrections.com
Slide 11
ANGER
Keeps Others Away and Helps The Offender Avoid Feelings of Shame, Sadness or Fear
Throwing Tantrums, Acting Aggressively, Etc. Gets Others Focusing on the Anger
Also Used to Intimidate or Threaten Others To Remain In Control
Slide 12
ASSUMING
“Mind Reading”- We Believe We Know What Other’s Think
Missing Work Without Informing an Employer Because the Offender Assumes It Was For Good Reason
Antisocial Individuals Assume People Don’t Like Them So They Justify Blowing Up, Robbing, Molesting, Etc.
Slide 13
AVOIDING THE HOT IRON
The Offender Does Not Understand Why Others Bring Up The Past Or Their Criminal History and Cannot See The Future With Clarity or Vision
Do Not Want to Face Weaknesses or Past/Present Bad Habits
Slide 14
BLAMING
“Pointing the Finger”/Finding Excuses
Blaming Others Makes The Offender Less Responsible
Used to Excuse Behavior And Builds Up Resentment Toward Others
Slide 15
CONFUSION
Presenting Self As Puzzled and Claiming Not To Understand Questions, Expectations, Or The Need To Meet Obligations
Pretending To Be Unsure Of What Happened Or Our Actions
Slide 16
EXCUSES
Justification of Reasons for Anything and Everything
Better for the Offender Not To Accept Responsibility
Slide 17
FACT STACKING
Telling The Truth In A Way That the Facts Help The Offender Not Take Responsibility for Their Actions
Makes Them Feel Powerful and Unlike Others
Rearranging the Actual Facts For The Benefit of the Offender
Slide 18
FRONTING
The Offender Presents As Helpful, But As A Means to Manipulate Others to Avoid Confrontation
Phony Behavior That Makes Us Feel Powerful and In The Debt of Another
Playing A Fake Role to Be Something You Are Not For A Specific Purpose
Slide 19
GRANDIOSITY or MAXIMIZING
Trying to Make Little Things Seem Like Important Things
“Making a Mountain Out of a Molehill”
“Setting Little Fires” to Create Chaos and a Distraction from the Real Issue at Hand
Slide 20
HELPLESSNESS
The Offender Presents Him/Herself as Helpless and Unable to Meet Expectations
Similar to the “Victim Stance”
Offenders Use This Thinking Error To Make Others Uncaring
Slide 21
HOPOVERS
The Offender Sidetracks or Changes the Subject To Avoid Confrontation
Passing From One Conversation to Another to Distract Others From the Real Issues
Slide 22
HOT SHOT OR COCKINESS
The Offender Believes They Are Triumphant Over Everything
Used to Avoid Further Goal Setting, Personal Development, or Behavioral Improvement
The Offender also Overestimates Progress And the Need for Further Development
Slide 23
I CAN’T ATTITUDE
Used So That Other’s Won’t Expect The Offender to Complete Expectations
This Attitude Eventually Leads to Disappointment, Loss of Control, or a Loss of Freedom
I Can’t Means I Won’t
Slide 24
IT’S MINE, or ENTITLEMENT
The Offender Feels It Is Okay To Take What They Want
The Expectation That Others Will Do As We Say
Treating the Property of Others As If It Belongs To The Offender With Little Regards For The Owner
Slide 25
JUSTIFYING
Like Blaming Others or Making Excuses
Allows Us To Explain the Reason for Things But Not Necessarily the Way They Truly Are
Justification of All Things To Avoid Responsibility and /or Accountability
Slide 26
KEEPING SCORE
Playing “Reprisal; Keeping Track of Others Mistakes Rather Than Focusing on the Offender’s Behaviors
The Offender Has a “One Up” Mentality in Pointing to The Higher Number of Mistakes or Errors of Others
Keeping Score Allows The Offender to Avoid Making Personal Improvements
Slide 27
LACK OF EMPATHY
By Using A Lack of Empathy the Offender Does Not Consider How Their Actions Affect Others/No Concept of Causing Pain
Slide 28
LET’S FIGHT, or SPLITTING
The Offender Starts Fights and Stands Back To Watch
Manipulation and Control to Incite Hostility or Aggressiveness In Others
The Offender Then Appears as a Mature Mediator In Resolving The Issue
Another Form of This Thinking Error is Pitting Staff and Administration Against Each Other
Slide 29
LYING
Distorting, Confusing, or Making Fools of Other People
Three Types of Lies:
Commission- Telling a Half Truth
Omission- Making Up Things That Are Note True/Leave Out Important Details
Action- Acting In an Inaccurate Manner That Suggests Something Is Not True
Slide 30
MAKING FOOLS OF
Allows the Offender To Ridicule Others To Feel Powerful and Controlling
The Offender Oftentimes Agrees To Do Things But Then Does Not Follow Through and Letting Others Down
Slide 31
MINIMIZING
The Offender Makes Things Smaller Than They Are
By Depreciating Our Actions They Become Unimportant or “Not That Bad”
Used in an Antisocial Way To Protect The Offender When Confronted on Specific Behavior
Slide 32
MR. GOODGUY
A Type of “Fronting” Where The Offender Presents Themself as a Nice Person That Does Not Make Mistakes
They Often Present As Doing Many Good Deeds But Take Advantage of Opportunities for Personal Gain or Pleasure
Slide 33
MY WAY, OR NO WAY
“All or Nothing” Thinking. Used To Force Power Over Others In Doing Thing s To Benefit the Offender
Things are Seen in Black and White and the Offender Feels There is No Alternative To Perfection
The Offender Does Not Want To Fail
Slide 34
PET ME
The Offender Is Selfish and Thinks Only of His/her Needs
Doing Things To Be Complimented or Applauded By Others
Acting or Behaving In A Manner To Receive Notice
Often Doing Things For The Wrong Reasons to Gain Approval
Slide 35
POWERPLAY
“Authority Conflict”, or the Offender Wanting the Power and To Be Right All Of The Time
They Enjoy Fighting and Dominating Other People/Others Are Not Allowed To Learn
Placing Individual Needs Over The Rights of Others
Slide 36
REDEFINING
The Offender Determines Boundaries By Shifting the Focus of an Issue
The Offender Avoids Solving Problems by Using This Thinking Error As A Power Play To Get the Attention Away from Themselves
Slide 37
REFUSAL TO ACKNOWLEDGE FEAR
The Offender Tells Themselves That “Nothing Scares Them”
The Offender Avoids the Anxiety of Preventing Them From Committing Unlawful Acts
Slide 38
SECRETIVENESS
Offenders Like To Protect Personal Secrets And Avoid Opening Up To Others and Trusting
This helps them Maintain the Power In Their Mind Over Others and Keeps Them From Facing Their Fears and Emotions
Slide 39
SEEKING SYMPATHY
Offenders Don’t Want To Feel They Are Wrong
It Is Better To Have Others Feel Sorry For Them
Slide 40
SILENT POWER
The Offender Enjoys The Attention Given By Others And the Frustration That Others Feel From Using This Thinking Error
Focusing On The Silence Allows The Offender To Not Concentrate on Their Real Issues and Serves As An Unhealthy Protection
Slide 41
SLACKING
Doing the Bare Minimum Required And Nothing More
Getting the Goal or Objective Accomplished And Then Relaxing and/or Kicking Back
A Mediocre Effort To Get People Off Their Back But No Real Self –Improvement Occurs
Slide 42
UNIQUENESS
The Offender Feels So Special That Rules Only Apply To Others, and Not Themselves
The Offender Feels So Unique They Don’t Have To Listen To Others Or Participate
Slide 43
VAGUENESS
The Offender Avoids Giving Specific Information And Does Not Want To Be Pinned Down On Details
Unclear Answers Are Safer and Allow Them To Avoid The Reality of Their Actions
Slide 44
VICTIM STANCE
The Offender Wants Others To Feel Sorry For Them
By Acting Powerless and The Role of A Victim the Offender Does Not Need To Take Responsibility For Their Behaviors
Slide 45
YOU’RE OKAY, I’M OKAY
The Offender Tries To Be Extremely Positive To Avoid The Reality of the Pain Caused By Their Actions
Work Hard At Being Cooperative and Supportive of Others and Worry About Others Problems More Than Their Own (Co-Dependent)
The Offender Focusses on Their Own Weakness By Falsely Appearing to Accept Others
Slide 46
ADVICE TO SERVICE PROVIDERS
“Criminal Thinking should be viewed as an outcome of maladaptive coping strategies rather than as a permanent fixture of the offender’s personality” (Treatment for Adults in the Criminal Justice System, quantumunitsed.com)
Slide 47
ADVICE TO SERVICE PROVIDERS
“Criminal thinking can be addressed using the same tools as in substance abuse relapse prevention. This includes identifying offenders’ primary thinking errors, instructing client’s to self-monitor when these errors occur…”
Slide 48
ADVICE TO SERVICE PROVIDERS
“Offenders can learn to recognize thinking errors and to understand how those errors can lead to behavior that gets them into trouble” (Wanberg and Milkman 1988)
Slide 49
Collateral Consequences
Individual
Employment
Public Assistance
Voting
Public Housing
Driver’s Licenses
Adoptive and Foster Parenting
Student Loans
Community
Neighborhoods
Families
Health
State budgets
Groups with High Incarceration Levels
Slide 50
[screenshot of “Consequence List” for Maine, fromNational Institute of Justice (NIJ) webpage of National Inventory of Collateral Consequences at
Slide 51
Pennsylvania Criminal Justice Statistics
PA State Corrections
27 facilities/51,300 inmates/$1.8 billion per year
15,000 released annually (over 90% are released)
65% have substance abuse issues
60% to 80% have a disability
State Probation/Parole
37,800 under supervision
Local example: Dauphin County PA
6400 under supervision
Slide 52
PA Offender Workforce Development Specialist
[logos of PennState, Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Department of Corrections, PennsylvaniaCareerLink, Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, Capitol Region Ex-Offenders Support Coalition (CRESC), and Lancaster County RMO Re-Entry Management Organization]
Slide 53
PA Reentry & Employment
Offender Workforce Development Specialist (OWDS)
201012 professionals
201260 professionals
[logo of National Institute of Corrections (NIC)]
Offender Employment Specialist (OES)
2010125 professionals
2013400 professionals
Slide 54
Pennsylvania Example 1: Communities
[logo of Capitol Region Ex-Offenders Support Coalition (CRESC)]
County Jail Work Release
County Probation
Community Organizations
County Workforce Office
Mentoring Program
Training Programs
[logo of Lancaster County RMO Re-Entry Management Organization]
District Attorney’s Office
County Prison
Benefits
Substance Abuse Treatment
Transitional Housing
Legal Advocacy
Slide 55
Capital Region Ex-Offender Support Coalition
CRESC
Dauphin County, PA
50 organizations
Mentoring Program
Slide 56
[screenshot of homepage of CRESC College of Mentors, at showing upcoming basic training course, photo of groups of college-age folk chatting outdoors along a railing]
Slide 57
Lancaster County RMO
Over 50 partnering agencies
Relationship building
Trust building
Clear communication
Information sharing agreements
Governance decision-making structure
Direct service to clients
Advocacy for policy change
Slide 58
[screenshot of Lancaster County RMO webpage for Community Services, Education and Training, at
Slide 59
Collaboration for Wrap-Around Services
Clients’ probation/parole officers
Housing providers
D&A providers
MH providers
Legal advocacy
Family services
Food, clothing, other “basics”
Slide 60
PA Example 2: Lancaster County WIB
Lancaster County RMO is a creation of Lancaster County WIB
Two sides of the reentry coin
Realized need to provide employment supports specifically to address the needs of the returning citizens
Employers have training facilities within WIB building that returning citizens use
Slide 61
Integration Activities Required
Determine entry point of customers
Establish one process for all customers to follow as they utilize core, intensive and training services
Outline and document each step through the process Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
Revisit process frequently and adjust as needed to make this process stay current
TEAMWORK
Slide 62
Lancaster County RMO-Employment
Lancaster County WIB Partner
Workforce readiness program Ready2Work
Specific skill training:
welders,
construction workers
machine operators
forklift drivers
printers, and others.
Slide 63
[screenshot of CareerLink “Get Ready 2 Work” webpage at
Slide 64
Returning Citizens (RC) One Stop Customers
Average of 287 job seekers per day from July 1, 2012 - June 30, 2013
6,835 new customers overall to the resource room
New Clients=6,835
Return Visits=64,381
Referrals=2,116
Total visits for this time frame = 71,216
Slide 65
WIB RC Demographics
Age Breakdown
18 and under 161
19 to 241276
25 to 391998
40 to 49 1297
50 to 55 876
56 to 64 936
65 + 318
Unknown 32
Male3865
Female2944
Highest grade completed
Non HS Grad 910
GED 448
HS Grad 2515
Trade school 239
Some college 749
Tech school 44
Assoc. Degree 233
Bachelors Degree 473
Masters Degree 123
Not Available1100
Slide 66
WIB RC Enrollment
Job Search Center 316
Ready2Work activities 863
Metrix Online Learning 41
Youth Programs163
Individual Training Accounts 59
EARN program514
TOTAL ENROLLED1956
TOTAL NUMBER OF JOBS1067
Slide 67
[screenshot of Pennsylvania Employment, Advancement and Retention Network (EARN) webpage at ]
Slide 68
Reentry Employment Program at PA CareerLink® of Lancaster County
Fiscal Year 2012-2013 Outcomes Summary
639 people completed “Landing a Job with a Criminal Background” workshop
Occupational Skills Training/Certification Obtained and # of Reentry clients certified:
Ready2Work (national work readiness credential) - 107
Applied Technology - 2
Blue Print - 21
CDL - 2
Construction - 11
Customer Service - 9
Forklift Driving - 27
Hot Lab - 6
Intro to Office Procedures - 1
Manufacturing - 33
OSHA - 37
Sales - 1
Soldering - 19
Welding - 16
JOB PLACEMENTS:142 people were placed in jobs with an average wage of $10.80 per hour
Slide 69
Seamless Process?
Everyone must buy into the plan & follow it
Requires functional supervision
Less confused customer
Better outcomes for all parties; job seeker, employer and common measures
Slide 70
Collaboration for Wrap-Around Services
Given the numerous barriers and collateral consequences that go with having a criminal record, no single agency can address every need of a returning citizen
Reentry partnerships are forming around PA
CareerLinks and WIBs should be involved in these reentry partnerships
Slide 71
Pennsylvania State Level Efforts
Past PA Developmental Disabilities Council (PADDC) member
Resources created through Temple University
Video and booklet to assist individual/family through criminal justice process
Educating first responders (police/EMT/etc) how to observe if person has a disability and respond accordingly
[logos of Temple University and Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council]
Slide 72
Pennsylvania State Level Efforts
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)-PA OVR and DOC
Concise and timely information for VR eligibility and case
Fee Waiver of DOC records
Case Summary on flash drive
Forensic Certified Peer Specialist
300 trained within state prisons
Those released are becoming employed
Transitional Housing Units
Accelerated programming for those within six (6) to nine (9) months of release
Connection with community resources
[logo of Pennsylvania Departments of Corrections and of Labor & Industry Office of Vocational Rehabilitation]
Slide 73
Pennsylvania-Justice Reinvestment Initiative
Data driven approach
PA one of 17 states involved in JRI
PA-Act 122 of 2012
Anticipated $142 million reinvested
Reallocates funds back to the local level from state DOC funding.
Counties have more resources to promote postive behaviors/divert individuals
DOC has contracted private providers for employment services
Sitting committee member of PA Commission of Crime and Delinquency (funding source)
Slide 74
What is Working in Maine
Reentry coalitions?
Partnering
Businesses
Workforce
VR and DOC
Slide 75
Examples of Successful Partnerships in Utah
Slide 76
Rehab ‘N the Hood
“NAVY”
Networking Agencies for Violent Youth”
Coming Together
Growing Pains
The Impact on the Problem
Before Offender Re-entry Was Fashionable
What About the Adult Offender?
Slide 77
The UDOWD “Creation Story”
Breaking Down The Barriers
Finding the Right Group of Change Agents
Separate But Equal in Terms of Vision
Looking Beyond the Differences/Capitalizing on United Strengths
Constant Relationship Work To Increase Success and Ensure Buy-In
Slide 78
Mission Statement of UDOWD