Across the nation, companies are facing tremendous challenges in filling an estimated 6.6 million job vacancies1. Research indicates that 62 percent of service-sector workers in the target occupational categories have limited literacy skills and 74 percent have limited numeracy skills2. By 2020, there will be an estimated shortage of 5 million workers with technical certificates and credentials3. While businesses are struggling to find talent, nearly 1 in 3 workers said they would have liked to participate or participate more in learning opportunities but could not due to lack of time and money4.

Center for Employment OpportunitiesOne of the greatest untapped resources in the labor market is the 70 million Americans with criminal records5. There have always been companies willing to offer second chances, but today, with a tight labor market and increased support for criminal justice reform, there is an unprecedented opportunity for men and women with convictions to fill the labor shortage.

Nearly 30 percent of individuals on parole are unemployed6, and the impact of this statistic is felt beyond the economics of an individual. One survey found that 65 percent of families with an incarcerated member were unable to meet their family’s basic needs7. A conviction too frequently comes with a lifetime sentence of joblessness and poverty.

Breaking Down Barriers to Employment

Returning citizens face many barriers at a time when there is so much at stake. In addition to finding a place to live, reconnecting with family and support networks, accessing health and mental health services, one of the most important and hardest challenges is finding a job.

Almost every person I speak with coming home from prison wants to work, but resume gaps and a felony conviction can be a hard stigma to overcome. Simply offering someone a job upon release from prison will neither increase long-term employment nor drive down recidivism. Given the barriers returning citizen’s face, they need additional supportive service to find success in the labor market.

Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO)’s program model is designed to provide the needed bridge from prison to employment. It offers services to individuals with the highest risk of recidivism, who are most likely to return to prison without an intervention.

Within a week of joining the CEO program, participants begin working on a transitional work crew performing labor, maintenance, or landscaping services for public sector agencies. For example, in Buffalo, CEO operates work crews that clean and prepare abandoned properties for redevelopment by the city.

Across the country, more than 400 people go to work every day on one of CEO’s 80+ work crews. Each crew is staffed by five to seven participants who work three to four days a week. CEO crews are hired by public and private agencies, giving CEO earned revenue as a nonprofit social enterprise. At the end of each work day, participants are evaluated on their performance of basic work skills such as punctuality and cooperation and given a paycheck – often their first.The experience not only empowers participants to master essential workplace habits, but also allows them to play a key role in connecting with, and caring for, their own communities.

For most of our participants, shorter term, stackable credentials offer a viable path to wage and career growth. For example, CEO participants can enroll in 30-hour worker safety training and flagger courses, which allows them to get hired by a construction company. What we hear from businesses we work with is that new talent doesn’t need extensive training. If someone can safely set foot on their work site and is motivated, they are willing to invest in the skilled training for them.

What We Learned from Evidence

As part of a random controlled study8, CEO found that it made statistically significant impacts on all measures of recidivism, particularly for those who needed the services the most -- higher risk men and women, and people coming to us within the first 90 days after release.

However, the research demonstrated CEO had less impact on long-term employment. This information helped us better understand that reducing recidivism, and changing the behaviors that lead to returning to the justice system, are not sufficient support for people to keep jobs.

With these results, and the support of the philanthropic community, CEO began to prototype new innovations to keep participants employed.

In-person, On-going Support
Our first hypothesis was that we had to maintain intensive in-person engagement with participants. We had built trusting relationships over the course of several months, but this ended abruptly when participants were hired in full time jobs. To solve this attrition, we hired a team of retention specialists and assigned one to every participant in the program. Retention specialists support participants for a full 365 days after employment and is crucial for participants who are new to the labor market. This ongoing coaching can help people avoid issues leading to job loss such as navigating issues like effectively communicating with a boss or dealing with child care and work.

Many people need more support in the early days when a new job seems daunting. We know if we can support an individual through the first few months of working, their likelihood of keeping the job for a full year is dramatically increased.

Retention services also change after the first few months because individuals aspire to move up in the labor market. Without prospect for future success and higher wages, many participants can become discouraged and drop out of the labor market. Providing a full year of retention support is proving to be a worthy investment.

More than just getting participants a job, CEO is committed to building economic opportunity for participants. Retention is one key factor of our success.

What Can You Do To Make A Difference?

Here are several ways you can get involved.

  • Learn More: Review Pew Charitable Trust’s research report Collateral Costs: Incarceration’s Effect on Economic Mobility.
  • Take Action: Support organizations like CEO that empower men and women successfully enter and remain in the workforce.
  • Advocate: Encourage employers in your network to move past the unfounded stigma associated with criminal records and actively hire returning citizens

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Original contribution by Sam Schaeffer, CEO of Center for Employment Opportunities

1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/05/08/the-u-s-now-has-a-record-6-6-million-job-openings/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1ae2ead934ca
2. https://www.nationalskillscoalition.org/news/blog/nscs-new-report-explores-role-of-skill-building-for-service-sector-workers
3. https://1gyhoq479ufd3yna29x7ubjn-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Recovery2020.ES_.Web_.pdf
4. http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2016/10/06/4-skills-and-training-needed-to-compete-in-todays-economy/
5. https://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Americans-with-Criminal-Records-Poverty-and-Opportunity-Profile.pdf
6. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/outofwork.html
7. https://ellabakercenter.org/sites/default/files/downloads/who-pays.pdf
8. https://www.mdrc.org/publication/more-job
Sources for photo data: https://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Americans-with-Criminal-Records-Poverty-and-Opportunity-Profile.pdf and https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2015.html