For Black Men: A Sentence That Never Ends

Nearly 60,000 men are on parole in New York State. About two-thirds are Black and Latino men from New York City. Blacks comprise 16 percent of the state's population but 50 percent of those on parole.

A life ensnared in the criminal justice system begins early for many Black men. It is a downward spiral: dropping out of school, few skills, no job prospects, a shortage of positive role models, a high proportion of peers neither working nor in school, the lure of the streets, turning to crime to create a role in society that must be taken seriously -- thus the advent of the gang culture -- and on to prison.

Living on the Edge

Then, once they have a felony record, hardships surface; getting a job, a place to live, a place back in the community. Where will these men get the money to survive, let alone live? Their chances of getting a decent paying job are slim. They are living on the edge of society. It is not surprising that so many of them return to criminal activities and soon end up back in prison.

A recent Community Service Society report revealed that a significant number of New York City's 16 through 24 year-olds are neither enrolled in school nor participating in the labor market. These nearly 170,000 young people are "disconnected" from any framework that could lead to a life of self-sufficiency and achievement. Young Black men are twice as likely as Whites or Asians to be out of school and out of work.

What happens to these dropouts? Our latest report on the local labor market shows that nearly 40 percent of the city's Black men are jobless.

An often unaccounted factor for the low rate of jobholding for Black men is a high rate of incarceration. An estimated 16.6 percent of Black men nationally are current or former state or federal prisoners -- a rate six times that of White men. The federal government estimates that one out of eight Black men in their late 20's is incarcerated.

The effect of a felony conviction on job prospects for Black men is disastrous. And it feeds into the racial discrimination that still exists in our society. Experiments were conducted where Black men and White men -- with equivalent resumes of education and experience -- posed as applicants for entry-level jobs. The White men admitted to having a criminal record; the Blacks no record.

The results: White men with criminal records had a better chance of getting a job offer or a callback after an initial interview than Black men without records. Black men with criminal records were only about one-third as likely to get a job offer as White men with criminal records.

Consider the implications of these points when one in three Black men with only a high school diploma will go to prison before the age of 40. In the U.S., there are more Black men enmeshed in the criminal justice system than are enrolled in colleges.

A downward spiral
to prison

The state releases almost 30,000 prisoners each year. Most return to their home communities -- a large number to Harlem, the South Bronx, Central Brooklyn, and Jamaica, Queens. These are the same communities where large numbers of disconnected youth are found.

There was a time -- before the Rockefeller drug laws overwhelmed the system -- when those released from prison had to have a job and a place to live before being paroled. Now they're given a minimal stipend and cut loose with little possibility of finding employment or successfully reentering their communities.

More than a decade ago, the federal government instituted its welfare to work program. Although the results of moving people out of poverty have been questionable, it reframed the debate. Similarly, government should create a program of economic opportunities for parolees, with job training and education as the central focus of increasing employment among this group.

These programs should start while individuals are still in prison and preparing for their release. And when they get out, they should be directed to special centers set up to help -- centers that can refer them to housing, jobs, and education and training courses.

Work-Based Programs

Education-based strategies can help, but they are not the entire answer. Parolees need to earn money while they further their education. Work-based programs are a must if those coming out of prison with few job skills are to get into the labor market. We believe this approach is the best cure for recidivism.

By publishing research on the persistent joblessness of Black men in New York City, the Community Service Society helped frame the City Council's NYCWorks initiative, a $10 million commitment to fund training programs for chronically jobless New Yorkers. The Council added another $18 million in this year's budget. This is an important first step toward resolving this crisis.

New York State spends more than $25,000 a year to incarcerate a prisoner. An investment in programs that would help parolees attain economic self-sufficiency would yield a greater return both for the state's economy and for public safety. And the public favors investment in these "second chance" programs. In our latest survey, 75 percent of New Yorkers favored public funding to support programs that teach the formerly incarcerated job skills and on-the-job training. It makes sense and it's cost-effective.

From the New York Amsterdam News
February 22 - 28, 2007