Prison Visitation and the Likelihood of Post-Release Employment

Abstract

Formerly incarcerated people have a difficult time finding employment upon release. Research has suggested the effectiveness in utilizing one’s social capital and social networks, particularly through family, as a means of securing stable employment post-prison. However, the social connections necessary—maintained via prison visitation—are often weakened due to long-term incarceration and multiple prison stints. Data from the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) are used to investigate whether individuals were able to find employment within 3 months after release. Results suggest that individuals who have committed serious crimes likely have more strained family relationships; making family members’ willingness to vouch for employment on their behalf, less likely. Implications regarding policy and practice for corrections and reentry are discussed.

“Not for the Weak”: The Lived Experience of Women in Romantic Relationships With Incarcerated Individuals

“…This shame may lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness, as relationships are often negatively impacted by the stigma surrounding incarceration. Imprisonment may make it difficult for individuals to find employment after their release, a challenge that will get more difficult as the number of past incarcerations increases (Fahmy et al, 2021).…”

Risk Level and Variation in Social Support Access Among Justice-Involved Youth

“…Similarly, because of how risk-level is calculated, higher risk youth likely also have more extensive criminal histories. And we know from prior work that continuous involvement in offending can destabilize families and limit support (Fahmy et al, 2021; Tapia et al, 2015; Tewksbury & Connor, 2012).…”

An Assessment of Prisoner Reentry, Legal Financial Obligations and Family Financial Support: A Focus on Fathers

“…Anywhere between 66% and 92% of people leaving prison depend on their family immediately following release for both emotional (e.g., advice, demonstrations of love) and tangible, or instrumental, support (e.g., assistance with practical tasks) [32]. Familial support extends across multiple domains, including housing, transportation, emotional support, instrumental support, employment, and childcare [30,[33][34][35][36][37]. Of particular relevance to the current study, families also provide financial support.…”

“…Additionally, we employed post-stratification weighting to address the level of attrition in the SVORI data. Post-stratification is a common method used to remedy issues of non-response in sampling and research [58], and has been previously applied to the SVORI data (see [34,57,59]). In the SVORI data, attrition is problematic since individuals who remain in the study over multiple waves may be qualitatively different from those who are more difficult to follow and attrite from the study.…”