ALTHOUGH IT HAS BEEN SHOWN THAT EMPLOYING EX-OFFENDERS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES RECIDIVISM RATES AND THAT PRISONERS ARE TRAINABLE AND EDUCABLE, EVEN THE BEST CORRECTIONAL SYSTEMS ARE GIVING ONLY TWENTY PERCENT OF THEIR INMATES USABLE JOB TRAINING. THIS PROBLEM IS FURTHER COMPOUNDED BY THE FACT THAT THE TYPICAL OFFENDER HAS DEFICIENT EDUCATION, POOR WORK HABITS, NO JOB SKILLS, AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL STIGMA OF A PRISON EXPERIENCE. PROGRAMS FOR JOB TRAINING AND PLACEMENT CAN, NEVERTHELESS, BE HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL, AS SOME EXAMPLES OF SUCH TRAINING DEMONSTRATE. ONE SUCH PROGRAM IS THE SEVENTH STEP FOUNDATION WHICH IS OPERATED ENTIRELY BY EX-OFFENDERS AND CONSISTS OF GROUP COUNSELING SESSIONS WHILE INMATES ARE STILL IN PRISON AND FOLLOW-UP COUNSELING AND AID AFTER RELEASE. OTHER PROGRAMS WHICH WARRANT EXPLORATION AND EXPANSION ARE WORK RELEASE, FURLOUGHS, RELEASE FOR TRAINING AND EDUCATION, AND HALFWAY HOUSES. THIS BROCHURE ALERTS THE EMPLOYER TO THE NEED FOR DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN ARREST AND CONVICTION AND BETWEEN PETTY AND MORE SERIOUS CRIMES. THE AUTHORS URGE THE EMPLOYER TO CONSIDER THE AGE OF THE APPLICANT AT THE TIME OF THE OFFENSE, THE NATURE OF THE OFFENSE, AND THE RELEVANCE OF THE OFFENSE TO JOB EFFECTIVENESS BEFORE DENYING EMPLOYMENT TO INDIVIDUALS WITH ARREST OR CONVICTION RECORDS. EMPLOYERS ARE ADVISED TO HELP CREATE LABOR MARKETS THROUGH IN-SERVICE JOB TRAINING FOR THE HARD-CORE UNEMPLOYED AND BY EXTENDING JOB ORIENTATION AND PROBATIONARY PERIODS FOR EX-OFFENDERS, BOTH TO REDUCE CRIME AND ELIMINATE THE WASTE OF HUMAN RESOURCES.