Ex-Offender Populations in Milwaukee County

Abstract

Released prisoners are among the most difficult labor force populations to serve and least likely to be successfully engaged in sustained employment due to persistent legal problems, low education attainment levels, high recidivism rates, and driver’s license suspension and revocation restrictions. The stigma of being an ex-inmate and the limitations this places on those released and expected to become gainfully employed are compounded further by legal sanctions placed on many adults who have spent time in correctional facilities. A total of 42,046 Milwaukee County working age adults have been in the DOC system, including men and women presently incarcerated in Wisconsin Department of Corrections facilities, persons released from DOC facilities since 1993, and persons on probation or parole in 2008. Nearly all of the adults released from DOC facilities, including those on probation and parole, are limited in their access to jobs by lack of a valid driver’s license. Of the 8,167 individuals on probation or parole, 8% have a valid driver’s license, 32% have a license but with suspensions or revocations, 22% have no license but suspension and/or revocation orders, and 38% have no recent DOT record.