The Solution, Not the Problem: an Ex-Offender's Contribution to Recidivism Reduction in a Communitarian Context

Abstract

This research tests the hypothesis that an ex-offender’s influence on the Workforce Development program in the context of, and enabled by, a Communitarian approach to reentry is the reason for the improvement in employment rate and recidivism rate observed by the U.S. Courts Office of Probation and Pretrial Services in the District of Delaware. Data from supervision records of probationers, supplemented by information from interviews, and surveys of probation officers and probationers who participated in the program, confirmed the effectiveness of the program on key success indicators. Between 2012 and 2014 the District of Delaware dramatically increased its relative employment rate compared to other districts, moving from the 40th to the 4th highest of all 94 federal districts. Compared to previous program implementation models, the employment rate improved by 5% in that period, outstripping improvements in the Delaware state employment rate. Increases in hours worked per week, and higher wages, indicate that employment quality improved overall. Reduction in the primary funding source showed that program improvements were not related to any increases in budget. The ex-offender heading the Workforce Development program, Saad Soliman, was found to be extremely effective both at identifying what services to provide to individual probationers and in providing those services in a manner that was well-received by all stakeholders. The organizational context that empowered Soliman was found to be a result of changing attitudes towards the reentry problem in the US Courts system, and within the District of Delaware specifically. Findings indicate that the personal reentry experience of ex-offenders expands their effectiveness as reentry specialists by giving them credibility as role-models among probation officers, employers, and potential employers in the community, and, most of all, among probationers.