Employment support for people with disabilities--especially for people who were formally incarcerated

Hello all!

We at Social Policy Research Associates are collecting effective inclusive employment and training-related policies and practices that support people who are re-entering the labor market after incarceration.  Given that so many people who are incarcerated have a disability, we are specifically interested in finding out strategies that are inclusive of, or geared toward, their needs.  Kindly share promising programs, local and state level policies, and any resources.  

Thank you very much!

Kris

Kris Palmer

Social Policy Research Associates

Oakland, CA

Comments

A recent publication from Columbia University Human Rights Law Review titled, Educational Requirements as Barriers to Release for Incarcerated People with Cognitive Disabilities, explains why this is an important topic to education researchers.

According to the publication, "some states impose educational requirements on incarcerated individuals without proactively assessing them for disabilities that may inhibit their ability to meet those requirements. Many state correctional systems have not instituted effective procedures to assess whether an individual may have a cognitive disability and, as a result, some people with cognitive disabilities who are otherwise eligible for parole may needlessly sit in prison." 

When learners are released, they continue to face many barriers to employment.  Does your program ask learners about prior criminal justice involvement?  When a learner discloses a criminal history, do they receive differentiated services to help address any of these barriers?  If so, what do those look like?

Thanks for sharing your experience and perspectives on this topic!

Mike Cruse

Disabilities and Equitable Outcomes Moderator

michaelcruse74@gmail.com

 

 

Thanks for raising this issue. It has been estimated that 66% of those men and women behind our prison walls have some type of disability. There are certainly tremendous challenges dealing with those returning home who have been diagnosed with a disability. However, how about all of those individuals that have flown under the radar screen and were never diagnosed? We need to do a far better job at assessing the educational needs along with individuals behavioral and physical health challenges that often frustrate individuals and keep them in the revolving prison doors. 

I am always looking for good assessment tools to recommend to our reentry and correctional partners and look forward to hearing any suggestions. Thanks Mike for bringing this to the table.

Jeff A