From Jails to Joblessness:  Why Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth Need More Than Just a Job   | NCWD/Youth – The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth

From NCWD-Youth: “Studies show that although transitioning youth that hold jobs may be less likely to engage in criminal activity, there is no direct causal relationship between finding employment and less recidivism.  Instead, research suggests it’s actually the change in a young person’s antisocial attitudes and beliefs associated with crime – rather than the paycheck – that accounts for their shift away from crime.  Or, to put it another way, employment is only helpful to the extent that one can keep a job.  A new job must be coupled with new behavior in order to help lower the risk of recidivism.  Therefore, it is the transformation in behavior that ultimately enables an individual to retain employment and reap the recidivism-lowering benefits that having a job can provide.” Read more, here.