The task of finding a job can intimidate anyone. If you’re an ex-offender, however, it can seem as futile as measuring the ocean with a sieve. Unskilled and with a background that frightens, many ex-offenders fail to overcome significant obstacles to workplace success – and fall right back into criminal behavior. Federal probationers in the Eastern District of Missouri, though, have overcome such difficulties. Intentional efforts under the Defendant/Offender Workforce Development Initiative (DOWD) have transformed this at-risk population into a powerhouse of productivity.

The Eastern District of Missouri’s Defendant/Offender Workforce Development Initiative began in 2001 to help probationers find and keep the jobs they need to support themselves, avoid criminal behavior, and positively contribute to their communities. DOWD employs probation officers trained in work force development as well as community organizations to give ex-offenders skills, resources, and connections to succeed in the career world. From Connections to Success, which supplies professional clothing and holds mock job fairs, to St. Louis Community College, which teaches culinary skills, Missouri’s probation office has formed multiple partnerships with local, non-profit groups. Working together, they provide a network of assistance that is transforming people’s lives.

Probationers who participate in the Initiative outshine not only their fellow ex-offenders but also the general public. In August, Corrections Today reported that in 2007, only 6.8% of the Eastern District of Missouri’s probationers were revoked. This contrasts with a 7.5% average revocation rate in all federal districts. The re-arrest rate for the Missouri district in July 2007 was 15%, which is far lower than the 68% national average and represents an incredible benefit for public safety. And, remarkably, Eastern District probationers have maintained unemployment rates below the average resident of St. Louis!

Chief U.S. Probation Officer Doug Burris is not surprised. In an interview with KSDK Channel 5, he says, “The new programs are showing that the carrot’s actually more effective than the stick,” and are giving people “the opportunity to be productive members of society” rather than putting “all the weight on them to adapt to society.” Through imparting confidence and the tools to succeed, Missouri is making reentry less daunting for ex-offenders and less risky for the communities that surround them.

For more information on prisoner reentry initiatives, visit Justice Fellowship’s Prisoner Reentry page and its Prisoner Reentry: Barriers to Reentry page.  Also visit Justice Fellowship's Probation and Parole issue page.

For more information on the Eastern District of Missouri’s Defendant/Offender Workforce Development Initiative, see the U.S. Probation Office of the Eastern District of Missouri.