Case Study: New Mexico Department of Corrections

April 2008

The Organization
New Mexico Department of Corrections

The Challenge:
Helping inmates build work skills for life after incarceration

The Solution: WorkKeys^® assessments before and after training, skill training to help participants boost their scores, and New Mexico Career Readiness Certificates awarded to inmates who complete the program

The Results:
A significant reduction in recidivism, reduced prison sentences, and a brighter future for participants

The primary goal of the New Mexico Department of Corrections is putting individuals on the right path. One element of this is preparing inmates for re-entry into the workforce after their time is served. Most inmates have work histories, but some employers are hesitant about hiring an individual who has been imprisoned, regardless of their job skills.

To build their skills and better prepare them for their return to the workforce, inmates enter the department's Career Pathways program. Career Pathways offers GED and vocational training, adult basic education, and even college credits to participants. "It's an advisement based model," said Mario Rico of the Department of Corrections' Education Bureau. "When someone comes in, they're assigned an advisor to find out what types of employment they're interested in. We use Department of Labor projections to determine in-demand jobs for the future. We look at their barriers to employment, and that branches off into the appropriate training."

One subset of the Career Pathways program is SOAR (Successful Offender After Release), an intensive job skills program. Inmates can enter the SOAR program if they don't have disciplinary reports and are within two years of release. In addition to job-specific skills, the employment-based program helps participants build their soft skills and "remove the victim mentality from their mindset," Rico said. "It helps them realize why it's important to show up for work on time, be clean shaven, and other factors that affect employability."

In designing each program, the Department of Corrections sought an assessment tool to help participants measure their skills and locate skill gaps before entering training. Rico had been involved with ACT's WorkKeys system in a previous job in the state Department of Labor, helping laid-off workers find employment. He helped to expand WorkKeys within the Department of Corrections as a prerequisite for entering both Career Pathways and SOAR.

To enter each program, participants take three WorkKeys exams: Applied Mathematics, Locating Information, and Reading for Information. Skill-specific training from KeyTrain Thinking Media is available to help participants boost their WorkKeys scores. In particular, KeyTrain has greatly increased subject retention in math and reading skill areas.

Participants are also assessed with WorkKeys after completing the program, revealing how their skills have increased and acting as a morale-builder and as a measurement of the program's success.

The three WorkKeys exams used in each program are also the basis of the New Mexico Career Readiness Certificate—an employability skills credential for job seekers that is affiliated with ACT's National Career Readiness Certificate initiative. Participants receive a Gold, Silver, or Bronze certificate, based on their scores. The certificate acts as an indicator to employers that the recipient has the basic skills needed for employment and trainability.

"Some of our students have never received a certificate of achievement in their lifetimes, like a diploma or a degree," Rico said. "Here, they can get a certificate that gives them a boost of confidence. They write to their families and tell them about it. It's amazing to watch it happen for them."

The Department of Corrections communicates their inmates' skills to employers through state job fairs and other venues. WorkKeys and the New Mexico Career Readiness Certificate help the department define those skills to employers and explain how they'll benefit the employer upon hiring. "They appreciate what information WorkKeys provides about the individual," Rico said.

Results

Reduced recidivism among parolees. "Our recidivism rate within the state—people that return to incarceration after release—is around 44 percent. For those who complete the SOAR program, it's around 33 percent," said Rico. "That's an 11 percent difference, and WorkKeys is a big part of that."
A statewide implementation of the system. So far, 13 correctional facilities use WorkKeys in the Career Pathways model. More than 2,200 out of 7,000 inmates in the New Mexico corrections system will have taken part in the program and been assessed using WorkKeys.
Reduced incarceration time. Any inmate who earns a New Mexico Career Readiness Certificate and obtains a GED gets a sentence reduction of 30 days. "That's obviously a huge motivation," Rico said.