The New York City Bar Association released a report in March 2008 entitled "Legal Employers Taking the Lead: Enhancing Employment Opportunities for the Formerly Incarcerated." It's worth taking a look at today.
The Bar Association formed a Taskforce on Employment Opportunities for the Formerly Incarcerated to identify the barriers facing individuals seeking employment in the legal field and elsewhere, as well as ways to overcome them.
The Taskforce highlighted the importance of their goal with the following statistics:
Numerous studies have shown that an individual’s likelihood of committing a crime is correlated with his or her work status. A survey conducted by the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics in 1997 disclosed that between 21 and 38 percent of prisoners were unemployed just prior being incarcerated, depending on their level of educational attainment.... The vast majority (89%) of individuals who violate the terms of their probation are unemployed at the time of the violation.
The report goes on to explore some of the barriers to employment, including laws barring ex-offenders from certain occupations and employers' reluctance to hire. The report cites a survey of 619 employers in the Los Angeles area who were asked whether they would definitely or probably hire an individual falling into one of the following categories, with the results showing that the formerly incarcerated fall at the bottom of the list:
Current or former welfare recipients ............93%
Recipients of a GED diploma ......................97%
Individuals unemployed for a year or more ......80%
Individuals with a spotty employment history ...66%
Ex-prisoners .........................................21%
Their final recommendations include encouraging law firms and other legal employers to be willing to hire and promote formerly incarcerated individuals, and to encourage their suppliers and subcontractors to do the same. Furthermore, statutory and regulatory restrictions on hiring and licensing ex-offenders should be reviewed and modified.
The Taskforce advocates enthusiastically for the use of workforce intermediaries to help individuals locate and retain employment, and for publicizing these resources since "[New York City] employers are virtually unaware of staffing resources in the form of intermediary organizations and transitional programs." [Emphasis added]
I recommend taking a closer look at this report. It includes several useful appendices, including a survey conducted with New York City law firms, a guide for employers on the proper use of criminal background checks, and information on programs in NYC that help the formerly incarcerated find employment and other resources.
I found it interesting although not surprising that the NYC legal community as employers were unaware of workforce development resources available to them. How is the awareness of services in your own community? Are there any organizations that you should reach out to and build relationships with to better help the formerly incarcerated stay out of prison and jail?
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