Project Overview
To develop design options for (1) an implementation evaluation of the planning period and early implementation of the Pathway Home grants; (2) an in-depth implementation evaluation covering the entirety of Pathway Home; and (3) an impact evaluation using rigorous experimental or quasi-experimental methods. We will use participatory research methods to ensure the evaluation designs are grounded in the experiences of people impacted by the justice system.
In 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor funded 20 Pathway Home grantees to provide linked, employment-focused reentry services to individuals pre- and post-release. DOL funded this project to design a study of the implementation and impacts of the Pathway Home grants.
- Social Policy Research Associates
- Council of State Governments Justice Center
U.S. Department of Labor
Although the racial disparity among the incarcerated has narrowed slightly in recent years, Blacks were still six times more likely to be behind bars in 2017 than Whites, and twice as likely as Hispanics (Gramlich 2019). Regardless of race, individuals released from incarceration face substantial obstacles to successful reentry.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has funded the Pathway Home Grant Program, an ambitious effort to strengthen ties between pre-release services for those in local jails and state correctional facilities and post-release services available in the community and the workforce development system. Building on Mathematica and SPR’s earlier evaluation of the Linking to Employment Activities Pre-Release program, DOL provided nearly $65 million to 20 grantees across 15 states to provide to individuals’ education and training, job preparation, case management, and other services before release from incarceration, and to continue comprehensive services and skill-building services such as apprenticeships after release. Using a continuity-of-care model, Pathway Home allows participants to maintain the same case manager pre- and post-release. As noted in the LEAP evaluation, this continuity enables participants to capitalize on their time while incarcerated and facilitates enrollment in reentry services in the community.

We’ve embarked on a journey to design a study that provides decision-makers with actionable evidence on strategies to improve job retention and recidivism outcomes for people in the justice system. We look forward to sharing what we learn over the course of this journey, particularly about how grant programs like Pathway Home can strengthen pre- and post-release services available across communities.
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