An Examination of Employment and Earning Outcomes of Probationers with Criminal and Substance Use Histories

• In Event: Structural Inequalities, Incarceration, and Probation

Abstract

The extant literature has demonstrated that there exists a strong relationship between having a criminal history and experiencing barriers to employment, particularly for African-Americans (Pager, 2003). Negative credentials have been described as the theoretical mechanism facilitating the social and economic exclusion of individuals with criminal records. However, previous research has not concretely identified whether the stratification of economic opportunities by individual-level criminal records may be further exacerbated by having a history of drug use. This study seeks to examine how the criminal history of probationers participating in drug treatment in Maricopa County, Arizona (1992-1994) effects gross earnings and employment outcomes at both the 6 and 12 month follow-up periods. Also this study seeks to understand whether having a history of drug use moderates the relationship between criminal history and gross earnings at the follow-up periods. This study hypothesizes that criminal history and having a history of drug use have a main effect and interactional relationship that negatively effects the gross earnings and employment outcomes of probationers.

Authors

• Sriram Chintakrindi, California State University, Stanislaus

• Chunrye Kim, CUNY Graduate Center / John Jay College of Criminal Justice

• Jeremy Reed Porter, CUNY Graduate Center