Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to examine the impact of adult transition centers (ATC) on earnings and employment two- and three-years following release.
- The study used a nonexperimental design to compare the outcomes of prisoners who attended ATCs and prisoners who did not. The primary data sources were the administrative records from the Illinois Department of Corrections and earnings data from the Illinois Department of Employment Security. The author used statistical models to compare differences in outcomes between the groups.
- The study found no statistically significant differences in employment and earnings between the treatment and comparison groups two or three years after release.
- This study receives a moderate evidence rating. This means we would be somewhat confident that any estimated effects would be attributable to ATCs, but other factors might also have contributed. However, the study did not find any statistically significant effects.
Intervention Examined
Adult Transition Centers (ATC)
Features of the Intervention
Adult transition centers (ATCs) are secure institutions within communities that provide programs to prepare prisoners for their release back into the community. ATCs targeted minimum security male prisoners from the Illinois state prison system who had their first imprisonment between Q1 1995 and Q2 2003. While attending ATCs, individuals are still prisoners of the state, but are required to participate in outside employment, education, life skills, or community service for 35 hours per week. ATCs introduce prisoners to employers associated with the ATC or prisoners can find their own job by using public ads. When prisoners have attained a job, they can commute from the ATC to their job and must return to the ATC at a scheduled time. The wages that prisoners earned from their jobs are transferred to the prisoner’s bank account and can only be accessed by filing a request that must be approved by the ATC. Prisoners were considered ATC dropouts if they violated the rules of the ATC and were sent back to prison to serve the rest of their sentence.
Features of the Study
The study used a nonexperimental design to examine the impact of ATCs on earnings and employment two- and three-years following release. The author compared the outcomes of prisoners attending ATCs to a comparison group of minimum-security prisoners who did not attend ATCs. The comparison group included those that did not apply to an ATC and those that applied to an ATC but were not accepted. The study sample included 12,193 male prisoners in the Illinois state prison system, of which 6,057 attended ATCs (treatment group) and 6,136 did not attend ATCs (comparison group). The study sample was mostly Black (81%) and single (73%), had less than a high school education (57%), had an average release age of 31 years, and had an average total imprisonment length of one year. The primary data sources included administrative records from the Illinois Department of Corrections and earnings data from the Illinois Department of Employment Security. The author used statistical models to compare differences in outcomes between the two groups.
Findings
Earnings and wages
- The study did not find any statistically significant differences in earnings between the treatment and comparison groups at two or three years after release.
Employment
- The study did not find any statistically significant differences in employment between the treatment and comparison groups at two or three years after release.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The study only examined individuals who were imprisoned for less than four years, limiting the generalizability of the findings. In addition, the study does not account for criminal history prior to the offense that led to imprisonment during the time period of the study's analysis. Given the effects of recidivism on one's livelihood after incarceration, prior criminal history may have consequential effects on individuals' outcomes.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this study is moderate because it was based on a well-implemented nonexperimental design. This means we would be somewhat confident that any estimated effects would be attributable to adult transition centers, but other factors might also have contributed. However, the study did not find any statistically significant effects.