Begging for Crime? The Effect of State Laws Restricting Access to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families on Unsuccessful Completion of Parole

Abstract

Transitioning from prison to the community can pose significant hardships as returning individuals seek to support themselves while searching for work and housing. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is one potential service that can help ease this transition, however, in numerous states TANF is not available to many former offenders. We conduct a fixed effects analysis on laws banning TANF assistance and state rates of unsuccessful parole completion between 1994 and 2016. We find that states that imposed restrictions on TANF saw an increase in state rates of unsuccessful parole completion. Furthermore, we find no significant difference between full bans and partial bans of TANF, indicating that even partial bans may undermine efforts to successfully reintegrate former offenders.

Keywords

reentry collateral consequences TANF recidivism fixed effects

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Allard

(2002). Life sentences: Denying welfare benefits to women convicted of drug offenses. Sentencing Project.

Alper

Durose

M. R.

Markman

(2018). 2018 update on prisoner recidivism: A 9-year follow-up period (2005-2014). US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/18upr9yfup0514.pdf

Beckett

Western

(2001). Governing social marginality: Welfare, incarceration, and the transformation of state policy. Punishment & Society, 3(1), 43–59.

Berg

M. T.

Huebner

B. M.

(2011). Reentry and the ties that bind: An examination of social ties, employment, and recidivism. Justice Quarterly, 28, 382–410.

Brown

(2016). Social support and crime: A state-level analysis of social support policies. Journal of Sociology. & Social Welfare, 43, 135–156.

Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1994-2016a). Annual parole survey. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2020-04-30. https://doi.org/10.3886

Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1994-2016b). Criminal justice expenditure and employment extracts program (CJEE). Retrieved May 30, 2020 from https://www.bjs.gov/

Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2012). Rate (per 100,000 resident population) of sentenced prisoners under jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorities on December 31. Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics. http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/

Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2012-2016). Imprisonment rate of sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities. National Prisoner Statistics Program, U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved June 7, 2020 from http://www.bjs.gov/

10.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. (1985-2016). Local area unemployment statistics 1985-2016. Retrieved May 21, 2020 from https://www.bls.gov/lau/

11.

Bushway

Brame

Paternoster

. (1999). Assessing stability and change in criminal offending: A comparison of random effects, semiparametric, and fixed effects modeling strategies. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 15, 23–61.

12.

Carson

A. E.

(2020). Prisoners in 2019. Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin. U.S. Department of Justice. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p19.pdf

13.

Clarke

Schyte

K. T.

(2020) Implementing the panel event study (Discussion Paper Series No.13524). Institute of Labor Economics http://ftp.iza.org/dp13524.pdf

14.

Clear

T. R.

(2009). Imprisoning communities: How mass incarceration makes disadvantaged neighborhoods worse. Oxford University Press.

15.

Congressional Quarterly Press Voting and elections collection (2019). U.S. House of Representatives Elections. Retrieved June 9, 2020 from https://library.cqpress.com/elections/download-data.php

16.

Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center Staff. (2018, December 21). President Trump signs first step act into law, reauthorizing Second Chance Act. The Council of State Governments: Justice Center. https://csgjusticecenter.org/2018/12/21/president-trump-signs-first-step-act-into-law-reauthorizing-second-chance-act/

17.

Dave

Corman

Kalil

Schwartz-Soicher

Reichman

N. E.

(2021). Intergenerational effects of welfare reform: Adolescent delinquent and risky behaviors. Economic Inquiry, 59(1), 199–216.

18.

Demleitner

(1999). Preventing internal exile: The need for restrictions on collateral sentencing consequences. Stanford Law and Policy Review, 11, 153–162.

19.

Durose

M. R.

Cooper

A. D.

Snyder

H. N.

(2014). Recidivism of prisoners released in 30 states in 2005: Patterns from 2005 to 2010 (Vol. 28). US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

20.

Finlay

(2009). Effect of employer access to criminal history data on the labor market outcomes of ex-offenders and non-offenders. In H

David

. Autor (Ed.), Studies of labor market intermediation. University of Chicago Press.

21.

Flood

King

Ruggles

Warren

R. J.

(2017). Integrated public use microdata series, current population survey: Version 5.0 (10. 18128/D030.V5.0.) [dataset]. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

22.

Glaze

L. E.

Maruschak

L. M.

(2008). Parents in prison and their minor children (Special Report NCJ 222984). U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/pptmc.pdf

23.

Gendreau

Little

Goggin

(1996). A meta-analysis of the predictors of adult offender recidivism: What works! Criminology, 34(4), 575–608.

24.

Harding

D. J.

Wyse

J. J.

Dobson

Morenoff

J. D.

(2014). Making ends meet after prison. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 33(2), 440–470.

25.

Haughwout

S. P.

Slater

M. E.

(2018). Apparent per capita alcohol consumption: National, state, and regional trends, 1977-2016 (Surveillance Report #110). National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

26.

Herberman

E. J.

Bonczar

T. P.

(2014). Probation and parole in the United States, 2013. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, NCJ248029.

27.

Holtfreter

Reisig

M. D.

Morash

(2004). Poverty, state capital, and recidivism among women offenders. Criminology & Public Policy, 3(2), 185–208.

28.

Hopkins

Jackson

Wilson

Young

(2016). HB 828: TANF eligibility; Drug-related felonies. Virginia Commonwealth University Scholars Compass.

29.

Hughes & Wilson. (2020). Reentry trends in the United States. Bureau of Justice Statistics Webpage, accessed 11/18/2010. U.S. Department of Justice.

30.

Kaplan

(1980-2016). Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program Data: Arrests by age, sex, and race, 1980-2016. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2018-08-16. https://doi.org/10.3886/E102263V5

31.

Liebertz

Bunch

(2018). Examining the externalities of welfare reform: TANF and crime. Justice Quarterly, 35(3), 477–504.

32.

Lin

Gratett

Petersilia

(2010). ‘Back-end sentencing’ and reimprisonment: Individual, organizational, and community predictors of parole sentencing decisions. Criminology, 48, 759–795.

33.

Lovenheim

M. F.

Owens

E. G.

(2014). Does federal financial aid affect college enrollment? Evidence from drug offenders and the Higher Education Act of 1998. Journal of Urban Economics, 81, 1–13.

34.

Luallen

Edgerton

Rabideau

. (2018). A quasi-experimental evaluation of the impact of public assistance on prisoner recidivism. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 34(3), 741–773.

35.

Lynch

J. P.

Sabol

W. J.

(2001). Prisoner reentry in perspective. Crime Policy Report, vol. 3. Urban Institute, Justice Policy Center.

36.

Manza

Uggen

(2006). Locked out: Felon disenfranchisement and American democracy. Oxford University Press.

37.

Mauer

. (2010, June 9). Testimony of Marc Mauer Executive Director The Sentencing Project. Prepared for House Judiciary subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions: Barriers to Reentry for the Formerly Incarcerated. The Sentencing Project. Washington, D.C.

38.

Mauer

(2017, May 19). Testimony of Marc Mauer Executive Director The Sentencing Project. Prepared for the US Commission on Civil Rights. Collateral Consequences: The Crossroads of Punishment, Redemption and the Effects on Communities. The Sentencing Project. Washington, D.C.

39.

Mauer

Chesney-Lind

(2002). Invisible punishments: The collateral consequences of mass imprisonment. New Press.

40.

Mauer

McCalmont

(2014). A lifetime of punishment: The impact of the felony drug ban on welfare benefits. Sentencing Project.

41.

McCarty

Falk

E. H

Aussenberg

R. A.

Carpenter

D. H.

(2016). Drug testing and crime-related restrictions in TANF, SNAP, and housing assistance. Congressional Research Service.

42.

Mears

D. P.

Cochran

J. C.

Siennick

S. E.

Bales

W. D.

(2012). Prison visitation and recidivism. Justice Quarterly, 29(6), 888–918.

43.

Mohan

Palacio

Lower-Basch

(2017). No more double punishments. Center for Law and Social Policy.

44.

Mueller-Smith

(2015). The criminal and labor market impacts of incarceration (University of Michigan Unpublished Working Paper).

45.

Munyo

Rossi

M. A.

(2015). First-day criminal recidivism. Journal of Public Economics, 124, 81–90.

46.

O’Brien

R. M.

(2007). A caution regarding rules of thumb for variance inflation factors. Quality & Quantity, 41, 673–690.

47.

Petersilia

(2003). When prisoners come home: Parole and prisoner reentry. Oxford University Press.

48.

Piatkowska

S. J.

Messner

S. F.

Gruner

Baumer

E. P.

(2020). The “new fiscal criminology”: State-level changes in crime rates and the structure of tax systems. Justice Quarterly, 1–23.

49.

Rubinstein

Mukamal

(2002). Welfare and housing: Denial of benefits to drug offenders. In Invisible Punishment: The Collateral Consequences of Mass Imprisonment. New Press, New York.

50.

Sampson

R. J.

Groves

W. B.

(1989). Community structure and crime: Testing social-disorganization theory. American Journal of Sociology, 94, 774–802.

51.

Samuels

Mukamal

(2004). After prison, roadblocks to reentry: A report on state legal barriers facing people with criminal records. Legal Action Center.

52.

Samuels

Mukamal

(2009). After prison, roadblocks to reentry: A report on state legal barriers facing people with criminal records. 2009 Update. Legal Action Center.

53.

Shapiro

(2001). Coming home: Building on family connections. Corrections Management Quarterly, 5, 52–62.

54.

Shaw

C. R.

McKay

H. D.

(1942). Juvenile delinquency in urban areas. University of Chicago Press.

55.

Smart on Crime Coalition. (2011). Smart on crime; Recommendations for the administration and Congress. Washington, DC: The Constitution Project.

56.

Spohn

Holleran

. (2000). The imprisonment penalty paid by young unemployed black and Hispanic male offenders. Criminology, 38, 281–306.

57.

Steen

Opsal

Lovegrove

McKinzey

(2013). Putting parolees back in prison: Discretion and the parole revocation process. Criminal Justice Review, 38(1), 70–93.

58.

Stoll

M. A.

Bushway

S. D.

(2008). The effect of criminal background checks on hiring ex-offenders. Criminology and Public Policy, 7(3), 371–404.

59.

Thompson

A. C.

(2008). Releasing prisoners, redeeming communities. New York University Press.

60.

Thompson

(2019) No more double punishments. Center for Law and Social Policy.

61.

Thompson

Uggen

(2013). How welfare reform drove up female arrest rates [Paper presentation]. 2013 Institute for Research on Poverty Summer Workshop in Madison, Wisconsin. Retrieved June 3, 2020 from http://users.soc.umn.edu/~uggen/Thompson_Uggen_WelfareReform_WP.pdf

62.

Travis

(2005). But they all come back: Facing the challenges of prisoner reentry. The Urban Institute.

63.

Tuttle

(2019). Snapping back: Food stamp bans and criminal recidivism. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 11(2), 301–327.

64.

U.S. Census Bureau. (1900-2000). United States, regions, divisions, and states Table 1. Released October 1995 2000 Census: SF1 urban and rural population: 1900-1990. State Library of Iowa, State Data Center Program, 800-248-4483. Retrieved November 14, 2020 from https://www.iowadatacenter.org/datatables/UnitedStates/urusstpop19002000.pdf

65.

U.S. Census Bureau. (1980-2018). Historical poverty tables: People and families - 1959 to 2018. Table 21. Number of Poor and Poverty Rate, by State: 1980 to 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2020 from https://www.census.gov/

66.

U.S. Census Bureau. (1990-2010). State and county intercensal datasets: 1990-2000. County Intercensal Datasets: 2000-2010. Retrieved May 26, 2020 from https://www.census.gov

67.

U.S. Census Bureau. (1994-2000). U.S. educational attainment tables: 1994-2000. Retrieved June 1, 2020 from https://www.census.gov/

68.

U.S. Census Bureau. (1995). United States, regions, divisions, and states: 1900 to 1990. Table 1. Urban and Rural Population: 1900 to 1990. Retrieved June 2, 2020 https://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/files/urpop0090.txt?#

69.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2010). Urban and rural. 2010:DEC Summary file 1, Table P2. Retrieved November 14, 2020. From https://data.census.gov/

70.

US Commission on Civil Rights. (2019). Collateral consequences: The crossroads of punishment, redemption, and the effects on communities. Washington, DC: Author.

71.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children & Families (1960-2015). AFDC Caseload Data 1960 – 1995. TANF Caseload Data 1996 -2015. Retrieved May 29, 2020 from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofa/programs/tanf/data-reports

72.

U.S. Department of Justice. (1994-2000a). Uniform Crime Reporting statistics - UCR Data Online. Retrieved May 21, 2020 from https://www.ucrdatatool.gov/

73.

U.S. Department of Justice. (1994-2000b). Crime in the United States: 1994-2000. Retrieved May 3, 2020 from https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s and from https://books.google.com/

74.

US Government Accountability Office. (2005). Drug offenders: Various factors may limit the impacts of federal laws that provide for denial of selected benefits. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Accountability Office.

75.

Wang

E. A.

Zhu

G. A.

Evans

Carroll-Scott

Desai

Fiellin

L. E.

(2013). A pilot study examining food insecurity and HIV risk behaviors among individuals recently released from prison. AIDS Education and Prevention, 25(2), 112–123.

76.

Wheelcock

Uggen

Hlavka

(2011). Employment restrictions for individuals with felons status and racial inequality in the labor market. In Ekunwe

Ikponwosa O.

Jones

Richard S.

(Eds.), Global Perspectives on Re-Entry. Tampere University Press.

77.

Whittle

T. N.

(2018). Felony collateral sanctions effects on recidivism: A literature review. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 29(5), 505–524.

78.

Yang

C. S.

(2017). Does public assistance reduce recidivism? American Economic Review, 107(5), 551–555.

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.34 MB