Georgia Leaders Discuss Challenges, Strategies in Hiring Individuals with Criminal Records

Taken from: http://csgjusticecenter.org/reentry/posts/georgia-leaders-discuss-challenges-strategies-in-hiring-individuals-with-criminal-records/

December 15, 2014

By Mai P. Tran, program associate

State leaders and business executives convened in Atlanta recently to address barriers to employment faced by individuals with criminal records, and to discuss strategies for improving employment outcomes.

 

The event, “Reducing the Risk of a Criminal Record: The Employer’s Perspective,” highlighted companies that hire individuals with criminal records.

 

Challenge and Opportunity

During a panel moderated by Appeals Court Judge Michael P. Boggs, business leaders shared approaches to fair hiring practices, including conducting a background check only after a job offer has been made and also giving potential employees the opportunity to explain their criminal record.

 

The panelists also addressed hiring challenges and risks. For big businesses, there is often the pressure to protect brand image from the stigma of hiring individuals with criminal records. Derek Bottoms, vice president of employment practices and associate relations at Home Depot, suggested that large companies are more likely to contend with the possibility that consumers might, for example, post negatively on social media about the company’s practice of hiring individuals with criminal records. In these cases, he said, “there is nothing a policymaker can do to protect the brand.”

 

For some small business owners, on the other hand, liability or fear of negligent hiring and supervising claims may discourage the hiring of individuals with criminal records. Peter deKok, owner of P.T. Enterprise, a natural stone distribution company, added that employment laws and policies with restrictions and rigid requirements on hiring and licensing “place an unfair burden on those employers trying to do right.”

 

Labor and employment attorney Myra Creighton stressed that people should be given the opportunity to explain their criminal record(s), and hiring managers and human resource departments should be trained on how to have these types of conversations. She noted that even the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a federal agency that enforces federal laws against employment discrimination, conducts background checks.

 

Employers as ‘Customers’

Leaders in corrections, workforce development, and policymakers who participated in the event’s second panel agreed that employers’ needs, which have traditionally been less emphasized, are also important.

 

“We have always looked at job seekers as our customer base,” said Michael Sterling, executive director of the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency. “But we need to start looking to employers as a customer base, too.”

 

The panelists discussed policies in Georgia that create barriers to employment for individuals with criminal records, such as driver’s license restrictions. Not having a license can become a significant challenge to securing and maintaining employment, especially for those without access to public transportation. Panelists also identified initiatives and programs in the state that help individuals with criminal records obtain jobs. Commissioner Brian Owens of the Georgia Department of Corrections mentioned opportunities made available to help incarcerated individuals obtain high school diplomas and college credits, as well as certifications for in-demand fields such as diesel mechanics and welding.

 

This discussion is a part of the growing conversation across the country between business leaders and policymakers on improving employment outcomes for individuals with criminal records. It is modeled after an event held in June 2014 at the White House, and is inspired by “State Pathways to Prosperity,” an initiative of the Council of State Governments, which is supported by the CSG Justice Center’s Reentry and Employment project. To learn more how you can host similar conversations in your jurisdiction, click here.

 

To learn about the Georgia event, click here.To learn about the White House event, click here.

Share your story

 CRILES, Rehabilitation Reentry Program

Lazone Grays Jr IBSA, Inc. - Chief Executive Officer says:

If you have an interesting story you want to tell about an experience in lockup, or about someone you know who is incarcerated and want to share a thought - CRILES, is looking for true testimonials to publish in its articles, newsletters, and social media streams.

 

To set up your 1 on 1 interview, please email Mr. Gwyndell B. DeClerck at gbdeclerck@criles.org or call (785) 693-0131. Your story may save the life of someone on the wrong path!

CRILES, REHABILITATION REENTRY PROGRAM is an Official IBSA, Inc. program, funded by it's own pledged members. Based in Topeka, KS, IBSA is a veteran training/service provider working with low-income youth, adults, single-parents, ex-offenders and startup entrepreneurs. For more information visit www.criles.org.

Pennsylvania DOC Launches Interactive Map to Connect Individuals to Reentry Services

People returning home from prison in Pennsylvania have a new resource to help them find the reentry services they need throughout the state’s 67 counties. The Interactive Reentry Services Map—launched in September 2014 by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (PDOC)—allows users to search for service providers, resources, and other assistance in their communities with the click of a mouse.

Click here to learn more: 
http://csgjusticecenter.org/reentry/posts/pennsylvania-doc-launches-interactive-map-to-connect-individuals-to-reentry-services/

http://reentrymap.cor.state.pa.us/

The Wilderness

Are you wandering around with a wilderness mentality like I recently was? Thinking that you are always only ever going to be a failure and that you can't trust any decisions you make? I'm here to tell you today that it's time to enter the promised land!! It's time to dump the negative thinking and behaviors that got you where you are now. How?

Stop negative thinking as soon as you realize you are doing it.
Start telling yourself the truth.
Spend time with positive people.
Don't isolate. Get out. Summer will be here... someday!
Find fun and productive things to do.
Laugh more.
Change one thing at a time. What's not working for you right now? Start with that.
Tell someone you trust that you want to change. Have them hold you accountable.
Set goals. Real goals. Goals you can reach. Then write down the steps to getting there.

Your promised land is closer than you think. Don't spend 40 years wandering in the wilderness when you could actually be thriving in paradise!!

Career coach helps inmates get fresh start

Borrowed from the Justice Center.

January 7, 2014

The Daily News Journal 
By: Nancy De Gennaro

Although the average recidivism rate for inmates in the state system hovers around 70 percent, local organizations are working together to reduce the number who return to incarceration.

Doors of Hope has teamed up with the Tennessee Department of Correction, the Rutherford County Correctional Work Center and the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office to get inmates career-planning assistance, a huge part of reducing recidivism.

“There are community organizations out here that help (inmates) find skills needed to re-enter society,” says Amy Jaramillo, a volunteer with the nonprofit Doors of Hope, an organization that does just that, offering mentorship, guidance and encouragement for ex-offenders. “We want a safer community and one way to have a safer community is (helping) these folks who have served their time … reintegrate back into society.”

Part of the solution is provided by TDOC, which has a mobile Career Coach that travels to various locations to offer resume and job-search assistance. Most recently, the Career Coach has visited the Correctional Work Center. The bus is equipped with about a dozen computers, Internet access and help from job coaches who assist people in searching for employment and creating resumes.

“My main job responsibility is … to assist with reintegrating (inmates) into the work world,” says Stephen Darrow, an employment specialist with TDOC who travels with the Career Coach.

Stumbling blocks can seem insurmountable when an individual is released, Jaramillo says.

“They come out in debt. They come out maybe without a driver’s license — some of the simple things most of us take for granted, and so Doors of Hope along with the (Tennessee Department of Correction) are trying to find ways to reach these felons and misdemeanants and say, ‘Hey, this is what you need to do,’” Jaramillo says.

Although misdemeanors can make finding employment difficult, many companies won’t even look at resumes from those with felony convictions. And many times, felonies and misdemeanors “run hand in hand,” Darrow says.
 

Another part of Darrow’s job is creating partnerships with local businesses in order to “break down barriers” and stigma regarding employment of those who have been incarcerated.
“There are myths that a person with a felony background is not going to be a good worker. That’s a misconception,” Darrow says.

Hiring ex-offenders can be a win-win situation for both the business and individuals.

“There are tax credits and there’s the federal bonding program, which is an insurance policy by the federal government to any business that hires a person with a felony background … to give offenders a second chance,” Darrow says.

Giving ex-offenders hope is a key element to cutting the recidivism rate, says Kim Robertson, who is over the programs at the Rutherford County Correctional Work Center.

“Individuals that come through here … they don’t have the (knowledge) of how to get started. … The most important thing they get out of (Career Coach) is there is help out there and not to give up,” Robertson says. “If they’re going to get turned down at one place, they’re going to get irritated and think, ‘I’m not going to keep trying,’ and therefore they’re going to re-offend. They need to learn to take another route.”

If ex-offenders are employed, “They’re paying their bills, paying into their Social Security and they’re not out committing crimes,” Darrow says. “I’ve seen it happen … they get a steady paycheck. They get more confident in themselves, they start believing in themselves and they’re formulating an idea of what they want to do as a career. They are on a stepping block to doing something more.”

For more information about Doors of Hope classes and programs, call 615-653-5501.

http://csgjusticecenter.org/reentry/media-clips/career-coach-helps-inmates-get-fresh-start/?utm_source=CSG+Justice+Center+Primary+List&utm_campaign=c85bcb8939-NRRC_Newsletter_1_16_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_db9d88bcfb-c85bcb8939-42280953