Lights and Shadows of Job and Social Rehabilitation of Prisoners. REINCORPORA Program Outcomes and Results Study

Abstract

This article describes the research findings about the outcomes of Reincorpora, a program addressed to the labour and social reintegration of people serving imprisonment sentences. Firstly, it outlines the theoretical framework and points to the main features of the program. Quantitative (surveys) and qualitative (interviews and focus groups) techniques were combined in order to design the investigation. Data provided by the holder institution of the program were analysed. Focus groups and interviews with social entities, technicians and inmates were conducted, and questionnaires were sent to the social organizations. The following article highlights some of the most relevant findings, in particular those aspects that enable successful pathways to employment, including citizenship, educational level, and work experience prior to entering prison, matching previous employment with the educational and training profile of the insertion process or the fact of having completed the training program. Some conclusions and proposals for improvement are identified. Thus, the importance of educational and training processes stands out, since there is a direct link between the fact of having achieved the training program and labour insertion process. This relationship is strengthened when it has followed a strategy to prepare for an occupational sector where there are real possibilities of the demand for jobs. Age, nationality, previous work experience or educational level influence positively or negatively in the employment process. Those results emphasize the importance of personal characteristics and the need for a more intensive individual support. Another conclusion of the analysis is the relationship between the individual's occupational careers before entering prison with the posterior job insertion.