III. THE RESOURCE-ALLOCATION AND SERVICE-MATCHING TOOL
Despite these issues, the tool illustrates the paradigm shift necessary to develop the type of assessmentdriven integrated responses needed to reduce reincarceration and improve job readiness among individuals with criminal histories. The following section walks the reader through the use of the resource-allocation and service-matching tool. The discussion focuses on how to identify different target populations and create tailored service packages. Sample scenarios are then provided to illustrate how an individual from each of the four groupings might be matched with services that address their specific reentry and employment needs. Although these scenarios provide examples of possible service packages (one of many potential combinations) and outcomes, they assume the availability of extensive resources, sometimes even ideal capacities, in order to highlight for readers a wider range of options. This abundance of resources is obviously not the reality found in most communities. These somewhat ideal scenarios do, however, illustrate a broader range of options that could potentially be made available.
What the use of the tool requires, then, is that program planners and administrators, as well as practitioners and front-line staff, collaboratively address how to make the most of available resources and determine if other partners can be brought to the table to expand the pool of resources and expertise. Through cross-systems discussions, the potential for reentry, employment, and corrections professionals to derive a greater impact from their investments is very promising. By using coordinated interventions to address criminogenic risk, workforce service providers’ investments are less likely to be squandered on individuals that not only fail to enter the labor force, but are reincarcerated (making it even harder to become employed when re-released). Corrections professionals should be able to help structure probationers’ and parolees’ time in prosocial settings by drawing on employment services that are matched to supervisees’ job readiness and that help secure the first steps to stability. And reentry professionals can focus their support on these and other efforts that can help individuals more successfully join the workforce.
How Policymakers, System Administrators, and Practitioners Can Use the Resource-Allocation and Service-Matching Tool There is no question that corrections, employment, and reentry policymakers, administrators, and practitioners want to increase public safety by reducing reoffending, encourage individuals’ successful return to the community, and improve rates of employment by using their resources to the greatest effect. Unfortunately, they sometimes lack the necessary information to make effective resource-allocation decisions to further these goals. The tool includes three steps:
1. Assess risk and needs
2. Assess job readiness
3. Deliver targeted service packages based on risk/readiness groupings
39