Labor Force Participation and Crime among Serious and Violent Former Prisoners

This project examines the relationship between work and crime among male former prisoners. Criminological theories and observational studies suggest that work reduces crime, but recent studies cast doubt on the ability of employment programs to reduce recidivism among former prisoners. Ongoing weak evaluations may imperil support for employment-focused rehabilitative programming. Using data from the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (n = 1,575), this study examines whether selection bias and unobserved heterogeneity contribute to weak evaluation findings. First, this study tests whether unobserved heterogeneity contributes to jobs programs\u27 weak treatment effects. It uses group-based trajectory modeling and propensity score methods to balance participants and nonparticipants on demographic and criminal risk factors. Lifetime arrest data from administrative records are used to model respondents\u27 prior offending trajectories. Baseline interview data are used to balance respondents on the propensity to receive employment-focused services. After balancing respondents, this study employs duration models to test the effects of educational and employment programming on time to rearrest. Second, this study tests whether financial problems mediate the work-crime relationship. Longitudinal structural equation modeling is used to model men\u27s labor force attachment, job quality, financial needs, and emotional wellbeing. Models test whether financial problems diminish the crime-reducing effects of employment for men who remain weakly attached to the labor force. Multiple indicators for each latent construct reduce bias due to measurement error. Results of this study show that education and employment programs in United States prisons have limited effects on the likelihood that participants maintain employment and avoid criminal justice involvement. Male prisoners recruited into the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative faced multiple barriers to employment before entering prison, due to extensive criminal records, low educational attainment, and limited work experience. Before matching men on the probability of receiving employment-focused services, program participants differed from nonparticipants across an array of demographic and risk factors. The group-based trajectory model derived three latent trajectory groups from the sample that exhibited distinctive demographic characteristics and pre-prison offending trajectories. Due to significant variation at the state-level, a multilevel logit model was used to model the probability of receiving education and employment services. Nearest neighbor matching with caliper resulted in a sample that exhibited balance across multiple demographic, criminal record, employment, and health measures. After matching, employment program participants were slightly more likely than education participants and nonparticipants to maintain stable employment, and employment program participants exhibited lower rates of rearrest during the first 9 months after release. After that point, there were no significant differences between employment-focused program participants and nonparticipants in labor force and criminal activity. The longitudinal structural equation model results show that criminal activity has cascading effects on financial and emotional wellbeing, subsequent labor force activity, and ongoing criminal justice involvement. Engagement in crime during the early months of release reduced labor force participation, limited men\u27s ability to obtain higher-quality employment, and increased their financial needs and feelings of psychological distress. In contrast, stable employment led to improved job quality and reduced financial needs over time. Employment did not reduce men\u27s later involvement in criminal activity, however. In fact, employment during the first 9 months of release was associated with increased odds of reporting committing new crimes during the subsequent 6-month period. Overall, the path model results provide no evidence to suggest that stable employment reduces criminal activity among serious and violent former prisoners. The results of this study cast doubt on theories of crime that presuppose causal associations between work and crime. Observational studies that show associations between stable labor force participation and desistance from crime may be capturing maturation effects that simultaneously directed individuals toward legal work and away from crime. If desistance from crime actually precedes stable labor force attachment for most former prisoners, this may explain the weak empirical evidence for prison-based employment programs. The findings may inform modifications to employment and transitional jobs programs to identify participants on the path to desistance who may be most responsive to these services

Parenting Stress Among White, Black, American Indian, and Hispanic Mothers

Parenting stress can have long-term effects on parents and children, but little is known about racial and ethnic differences in parenting stress. Using baseline survey data from a probability sample in the SEED for Oklahoma Kids experiment (N = 2,26), we examine parenting stress among White, Black, American Indian, and Hispanic mothers. This study employs OLS regressions and Blinder-Oaxaca decompositions. Parenting stress scores among Whites and American Indians were on average significantly lower than among Blacks and Hispanics. Regressions indicate that across all four groups, parenting stress is positively associated with maternal depression and negatively associated with social supports. Decomposition results show that racial and ethnic disparities in parenting stress would be decreased significantly if minority mothers had the same levels of depression and social supports as White mothers. Findings call for intervention strategies to reduce depression and strengthen social supports among mothers, especially among racial and ethnic minority mothers

Economic Intervention and Parenting: A Randomized Experiment of Statewide Child Development Accounts

Objective: We examine the effects of Child Development Accounts (CDAs) on parenting stress and practices. Methods: We use data from the SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK) experiment. SEED OK selected caregivers of infants from Oklahoma birth certificates using a probability sampling method, randomly assigned caregivers to the treatment (n = 1,32) or control group (n = 1,098), and provided college savings incentives only to the treatment group. We run regression analyses on a parenting stress scale and six continuous measures of parenting practices. Results: There were no significant differences in parenting outcomes between treatment and control groups, with the exception of frequency of screaming at the child. CDAs have more salient effects on American Indians than on other groups. Conclusions: We present weak evidence for CDAs’ positive impacts on parenting outcomes. Further research is needed to determine whether these initial results change over time

Household Assets and Food Stamp Program Participation Among Eligible Low-Income Households

This study examines the association between asset ownership and Food Stamp Program participation among eligible households using a sample from a longitudinal national survey. This study employs two approaches: A multinomial model on the level of program participation and an event history analysis on the duration of eligible nonparticipation spells. Analysis results show that home, vehicle, and bank account ownership are negatively related to program participation, suggesting that asset ownership may reduce low-income households’ chances of receiving food assistance. It is recommended that program administrators liberalize asset eligibility rules and simplify procedures to facilitate program participation among low-income asset owners

Reference Transaction Handoffs: Factors Affecting the Transition from Chat to Email

This study describes a content analysis of reference transcripts taken from the NCknows virtual reference service. The analysis was performed to determine why the librarians consider some questions to be unanswerable at the time that they are submitted by users. Transcripts were coded by a classification of question causes, by how complete the reference interview was during the transaction, and then according to the reasons given for ending the chat early. The analysis showed that most reference interviews were incomplete and that the most common explanation for why the questions could not be answered at the time was that the librarians were already busy assisting other users. The study indicates that more North Carolina librarians should be hired to staff the service and that librarians should make a greater effort to conduct a complete reference interview so that more questions can be answered while the user is still online

Racial and ethnic differences in parenting stress: evidence from a statewide sample of new mothers

Parenting stress can have long-term effects on parents and children, but little research has been done on racial and ethnic differences. We examine parenting stress among White, Black, American Indian, and Hispanic mothers with infants younger than 9 months old. We use birth certificate data and baseline survey data from the SEED for Oklahoma Kids experiment. The study selected its sample from the birth certificates of all infants born in Oklahoma during a certain time period and oversampled three minority groups using stratified random sampling (N = 2,626). The dependent variable is a parenting stress scale created using four questions about mothers’ feelings and perceptions of parenting responsibilities. We employ ordinary least squares regressions and Blinder–Oaxaca decompositions. On average, mean parenting stress scores among Whites (2.80) and American Indians (2.92) are significantly lower than among Blacks (3.17) and Hispanics (3.44). Regressions indicate that—across all four groups—parenting stress is positively associated with maternal depression and negatively associated with social supports. Decomposition results show that different levels of social supports explain 14 to 30 % of the group differences between Whites and the three minority groups. Different levels of depression score explain a significant portion of the disparity between Whites and Blacks (19 %). If the proportion of native-born mothers among Hispanics were as high as that among Whites, about one-third of the gap in parenting stress would disappear. Findings call for interventions to reduce depression and strengthen social supports for new mothers, especially among racial and ethnic minorities

Material hardship and 529 college savings plan participation: the mitigating effects of Child Development Accounts

Experience of material hardship can adversely affect a family’s ability to make long-term investments in children’s development. We examine whether material hardship is associated with one indicator of such investments: participation in a tax-advantaged college savings plan (529 plan). Data for this study come from the SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK) experiment, an intervention that offers Child Development Accounts with financial incentives to encourage the accumulation of college savings for children from the time of their birth. Results show that material hardship is negatively associated with 529-plan participation, and this association varies by treatment status. At all levels of material hardship, treatment-group mothers are more likely to hold accounts than control-group mothers. These findings suggest that CDAs can be a useful policy tool to support families’ financial preparation for college

Universal accounts at birth: building knowledge to inform policy

Objective: This article summarizes the design, implementation, and early findings of a statewide randomized experiment of Child Development Accounts (CDAs). The SEED for Oklahoma Kids experiment (SEED OK) is testing a concept for a universal, progressive asset-building policy with potential for national application. CDAs can start as early as birth, providing structured opportunities (e.g., financial access, information, incentives) to encourage asset accumulation for postsecondary education and other developmental purposes. Theory and evidence suggest that CDAs can improve educational outcomes, especially among disadvantaged youth. Method: Participating in a rigorous randomized controlled design, primary caregivers of children born in Oklahoma in 2007 completed a baseline telephone survey before random assignment to the treatment group (n = 1,358) or control group (n = 1,346); these caregivers completed a followup survey 4 years later. For children in the treatment group, the SEED OK experiment automatically opened an Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan (OK 529) account with a $1,000 initial deposit. In addition, low- and moderate-income families in the treatment group were eligible for a savings match for deposits to their own OK 529 accounts. Results: Findings indicate that CDAs can be implemented universally in a full population to increase the accumulation of college assets. The CDA in SEED OK greatly reduces disparities in OK 529 asset accumulation associated with socioeconomic characteristics. The CDA also has positive effects on parental educational expectations for children, maternal depressive symptoms, and children’s social-emotional development. Conclusions: In contrast to college savings programs that require parents to open an account, SEED OK’s universal, automatic, and progressive CDA model gives all children the opportunity to benefit from college account and asset ownership

Economic intervention and parenting: a randomized experiment of statewide child development accounts

Objective: We examine the effects of Child Development Accounts (CDAs) on parenting stress and practices. Methods: We use data from the SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK) experiment. SEED OK selected caregivers of infants from Oklahoma birth certificates using a probability sampling method, randomly assigned caregivers to the treatment (n = 1,132) or control group (n = 1,098), and provided college savings incentives only to the treatment group. We run regression analyses on a parenting stress scale and six continuous measures of parenting practices. Results: There were no significant differences in parenting outcomes between treatment and control groups, with the exception of frequency of screaming at the child. CDAs have more salient effects on American Indians than on other groups. Conclusions: We present weak evidence for CDAs’ positive impacts on parenting outcomes. Further research is needed to determine whether these initial results change over time

Numeracy and Financial Wellbeing During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper examines the role of numeracy in smoothing financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show that numeracy was associated with a 30% reduction in late or non-payment of bills and a 20% reduction in the odds of feeling financially squeezed. The effect of numeracy on financial wellbeing was remarkably consistent across levels of education, ethnicity, and gender, suggesting that improving numeracy levels in the population may be an effective strategy to increase financial capability across the board. However, while numerate individuals were less likely to experience financial difficulty, high numeracy did not predict narrower gaps between Whites and ethnic minorities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Governments must take seriously the need to address the constraints and institutional barriers that keep individuals from achieving financial wellbeing