1,Education, Post Release Return to School, Employment and Crime Desistance Among Incarcerated Youth,Thomas G. Blomberg William D. Bales Courtney A. Waid November 3, 2006 Los Angeles American Society of Criminology Conference,2,Prior research has demonstrated that educational achievement does increase individuals prospects for employment. Further, graduating from high school has been shown to significantly decrease involvement in serious crime largely because of the greater capacity of high school graduates to gain employment. These findings on education and employment suggest that incarcerated youth who experience educational achievement and post release return to school may be more likely to be employed and to experience desistance from crime. Largely absent from the desistance research have been studies focused upon such adolescent life events and relationships between educational achievement while incarcerated, post release return to school, employment and crime desistance. The present study addresses these adolescent life experiences and potential relationships between educational achievement while incarcerated, post release returning to school, employment and crime desistance.,Introduction,3,Prior Literature Life Course,In the past decade, a number of life course studies have focused upon several different life experiences that contribute to desistance from crime for young adults. It has been reported, for example, that marriage, employment and military experience can lead to desistance from crime for a number of young adults (Sampson and Laub, 1993; Laub and Sampson, 2003; Warr, 1998; Sampson, Laub and Wimer, 2006). The capacity of adolescent life events to result in desistance from crime has not received the same level of attention as have young adult life events although several have called for such study (Sampson and Laub, 1993; Farrington, 2003). However, prior studies employing survey data of adolescents drawn from the general population have found that juveniles report much less involvement in crime when they are committed and attached to school, spend significant time studying, and make good grades (Cernkovich and Giovdano, 1992; Massey and Krohn, 1986; Steward, 2003; Thaxton and Agnew, 2004).,4,Prior Literature Employment,Studies of the role of employment in reducing recidivism, have reported that employment does, in fact, reduce recidivism. For example, Sampson and Laub (1993) found the job stability from ages 17 25 significantly reduced recidivism. Bernburg and Krohn (2003) reached a similar conclusion. Among the research questions that can be drawn from this prior literature on education and employment is which of the two is the most promising in leading to crime desistance. While there is no conclusion evident favoring education over employment, there is some evidence to suggest that education may play a more prominent role. For example, Wilson, Gallagher and MacKinzies (2000) meta analysis of correctional programming evaluation studies included separate analyses for education and employment programs. They found the education programs had a significant overall effect on recidivism while employment programs had effects that were in the predicted direction (employment training reduced recidivism) but failed to be significant in the aggregate.,5,Prior Literature Interaction between Education and Employment,It could be, however, that there is a potential interactive relationship between education and employment. For example, Bernburg and Krohn (2003) report that graduating from high school decreased crime in young adulthood precisely because of its positive effect on later employment. Further, Harrison and Schehr (2004) report that employment training in prison has its greatest effect in reducing recidivism when it is followed by post-release services including education. Clearly, the potential interactive relationship between educational achievement and employment in crime desistance is a timely and important area of life course study.,6,Data & Methods,Cohort of 4,147 youths released from 115 juvenile institutions throughout Florida during FY 2000-2001 Cohort data was gathered from the Florida Departments of Education and Law Enforcement Three years of data were used including the youths year of release (2000-2001) and two follow-up years (2001-2002 & 2002-2003) Logistic regression was the statistical method used Outcomes include return to school following release, employment after release and rearrest within 12 and 24 months, and Interventions include academic achievement while incarcerated, attendance in school within 12 and 24 months following release, and level of employment post release Control variables include age, race, gender, prior record, SES, age/grade level, disability, length of incarceration, age at first arrest,7,Research Questions,To address the relationship between educational achievement and employment upon post-release desistance from crime among i