Today approximately 77 million Americans, or 1 in 3 adults have a criminal record. While not everyone represented in this statistic has experienced incarceration and dealt with the challenges of re-entry and finding quality employment, it serves to highlight that the barriers formerly incarcerated people face finding quality jobs are far more commonplace than we might think. Many returning citizens, who worked for little or no pay while incarcerated, will struggle to find quality jobs after release. Discrimination against those with a record, restrictions on what occupational licenses are available to those with a record, existing debts, punitive court supervision policies, and lack of support to meet basic needs in areas such as housing can force those leaving incarceration into dead-end, low-paying, and exploitative jobs. Some will find they are barred from doing the  jobs they worked or were trained to do while incarcerated. And many more lacked opportunities to participate in education or training opportunities while incarcerated.

But across the country, innovative efforts to improve re-entry and quality employment are underway, revamping our re-entry system by opening up access to good jobs.  New laws to wipe criminal records and address occupational licensing barriers, legal action aimed at discrimination, and a growing coalition of  employers and union leaders are showing that providing a second chance is possible.

In this virtual event — hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on February 26, 2025 — we explore the opportunities and challenges accessing good jobs for people after incarceration. Our conversation features opening remarks from Sappho Fulton (Womxn Beyond Borders), followed by a panel discussion with Daryl V. Atkinson (Forward Justice), Beth Avery (National Employment Law Project), Sharon Dietrich (Community Legal Services), Minna Long (Washington State Building & Construction Trades Council), Gina Schaefer (A Few Cool Hardware Stores), and moderator Jamiles Lartey (The Marshall Project).

This discussion is the second in our two-part series, “Work Behind and Beyond Bars: Improving Job Quality During and After Incarceration.” Our first discussion, “A Hidden Workforce: Prison Labor, Human Rights, and the Legacy of Slavery,” is available here.

Read the full article about re-entry and quality employment at The Aspen Institute.