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Combining Safer’s track record of reducing recidivism with eager community college educators, SPISE helps prisoners access the employment and computer literacy training they need to return to the outside world as productive members of society.

The program provides job training in 38 prisons throughout Illinois and offers support services in the 10 highest reentry communities. Using the Safer Foundation’s job coaching methodology, community college instructors address the range of social challenges individuals face upon release: such as housing, education, physical health, alcohol and drug abuse, mental health, intellectual disabilities, and social communication skills.

Employment is a key factor in reducing recidivism. Clients who find work through Safer are 54 percent less likely to commit another crime than the average for IDOC parolees. Unfortunately, formerly incarcerated individuals face multiple barriers as they strive for this goal. For example, 30 percent of Safer participants in 2006 reported having no work history and 19 percent had less than one year of experience.

To comprehensively address these challenges, SPISE establishes post-release support services through satellite offices throughout the state. These satellites assist clients with job placement support and a services network comprised of community partners in each of the high-impact areas. Clients receiving both employment training and supportive services through are even less likely to return to prison, and as a result have a 75 percent lower recidivism rate than the IDOC average.

Program Structure

SPISE is a mandatory job preparedness program with two main emphases: in-prison instruction and post-release job development and placement. The two are interrelated and require a coordinated delivery approach. The total program covers a total of 90 hours, with 60 devoted to training and instruction.

Each client participating in the program will have three hours of morning classroom instruction and three hours of afternoon computer lab for a total of 10 sessions. During the final two sessions, clients participate in several mock interview sessions that include their community college instructor, the Safer regional coordinator, and community post-release staff.

Program Accomplishments

The SPISE initiative’s achievements in the first year included:

• Training all Illinois community college instructors in the Safer Foundation Job Coaching methodology
• Installing state-of-the-art computer labs in 38 prisons, consisting of 953 computers
• Developing and implementing job readiness training and computer lab tutorials
• Completing an outcome analysis of the 10 highest reentry communities according to the Egan Urban Center Environmental Scan
• Enrolling 5,343 clients into the program, of which 3,996 graduated by the end of the year

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