This Week's Herman Trend Alert Demand-Driven Workforce Development

The Herman Trend Alert February 21, 2007 Prison Populations and High School Graduation A recent study by the Pew Charitable Trusts, a philanthropic organization that funds research, forecasts rises in prison populations in most of the United States. The average of all of the states is a 13 percent increase, though some states are expecting no growth and others up 41 percent (Montana). Among other factors, the study focuses on increasing costs. The projected increase in costs over the next five years is an astounding USD $27.5 billion. That figure represents nearly half of the current annual amount spent to support the prison populations. Thus Pew projects a whopping 50 percent increase in costs! Another interesting feature is the gender of the increasing inmate populations. Women inmate populations will increase faster, than their male counterparts: 16 percent versus 13 percent growth. As we encourage gender equity, we may expect the number of women involved in the criminal justice system to grow as well. Different states are challenged with different issues: in Montana, methamphetamine-related cases represent at least half of all prison admissions; in Louisiana, violent crime levels have remained the same, though the population has decreased by 50 percent. We wondered about the relationship between high school dropout rates and crime rates, because we know that young people who drop out of high school are much more likely to end up in the criminal justice system than their peers who stay in school. The results were surprising. Montana, the state with the highest increase in prison populations (41 percent) had an impressive graduation rate in during the years 1999 to 2001----92.4 percent of its 18 to 24 year-olds were “high school completers.” Arizona with its second largest increase of any of the states, came in at 77.6 percent completion, one of the lowest. While the Pew study defines a huge problem, we would like to suggest some solutions, beginning with greater funding for workforce development. We believe that funding training programs for high school students and prisoners is a much better investment than building more prisons. It creates a positive outcome for society the recipients of this training and their ultimate employers. © Copyright 1998-2008 by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc." DON'T BE LEFT BEHIND! If you've been thinking about attending our valuable Employee Retention Specialist Certificate Program, don't delay--only three spaces remain. With the employment market heating up, many positions are literally impossible to fill. Attend this course and you will learn dozens of low-/no-cost valuable strategies to attract and retain the talent you need. Recertification credit from HRCI. Next program: May 22-23, Charleston, SC. Call Carol at 336-282-9370 or visit http://www.employeeretentionspecialist.com. GET INSIDE THE MINDS OF YOUR EMPLOYEES Find out what's really going on inside the hearts and minds of your employees. Our InnerViews interviewing service uses SPHRs and PHRs, certified human resource professionals to probe for the information you really need to know. Exit and Stay Interviews, as well as Why-Didn't-You-Take-Our-Offer Interviews. Call Rosalie Catalano at 937-648-1918 or read more at: http://www.hermangroup.com/retentionconnection/exit_interviews.html. NEW BABY BONUS Book Joyce to speak on the West Coast in 2008 and receive 100 of her books of your choosing. There is a new baby in the family, Spencer Jay, and Joyce would appreciate more opportunities to watch him grow. For more about Joyce, visit http://www.hermangroup.com/joyce.html or call Joyce at 336-210-3548. Herman Trend Alerts are produced by the Herman Group, strategic business futurists, Certified Management Consultants, authors, and professional speakers. New subscribers are welcome. There is no charge for this public service. The Herman Trend Alert is received by over 30,000 subscribers in 78 countries, in addition to other websites and printed magazines. Do you enjoy receiving this weekly e-mail update? Contact us about our co-branded Trend Alert service. Click here to sign up for the Herman Trend Alert. Subscribe or Unsubscribe to weekly Herman Trend Alert View this week's Herman Trend Alert Archived Weekly Herman Trend Alerts

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