To combat a workforce shortage that continues to plague Connecticut, a leading child advocacy group is recommending that the state turn to people leaving incarceration to help fill the void.

Connecticut Voices for Children, a statewide research and advocacy organization, made the recommendation, among others, in a report released Tuesday, titled “Rethinking Reentry Wage and Policy Barriers Will Benefit Connecticut’s Communities and Economy.”

As the report outlines, Connecticut holds a steady unemployment rate hovering around 4%, a labor force participation rate of nearly 65% and “not enough workers to meet all the needs of employers.” While formerly incarcerated people may possess the skills that employers desire, the opportunities often have, in part, nonviable job requirements and inadequate wages.

And while the Department of Correction offers programs aimed at helping people reintegrate into their communities — financial literacy and entrepreneurial training, for example — the programs are understaffed, and people still report significant struggles with finding employment, housing and health care. Those primarily affected include men, people of color and parents supporting children, in addition to people without collegiate experience and those with minimal employment history, according to the report.

“These consequences can have a large economic impact not just for reentering individuals; by making it harder for reentering individuals to meet their basic needs, collateral consequences have a detrimental impact on society as a whole,” the report says. Restricting a person’s access to employment contributes to “higher unemployment rates and/or lower labor force participation rates, fewer taxpayers, and a less active economy,” it says. The report also describes work as an “effective lever” to reduce recidivism, which years of research supports.

Read the full article about prioritizing reentry from prison by Jaden Edison at Connecticut Public.