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The New America Foundation recently hosted a panel, Locked Up and Locked Out, to discuss the barriers that male ex-offenders face when leaving prison. The panel highlighted the issues and the policy implications that prevent men from finding meaningful work and being able to financially contribute to their families after exiting prison. Most significantly, the panel emphasized how policymakers can play an important role in supporting men recently released from prison by increasing their access to opportunities to successfully reintegrate back into society.
The most prominent issue discussed on the panel is the lack of available supports, such job placement and housing, for recently released ex-offenders. Research shows this is what often leads to the high rates of recidivism. In addition, the panel highlighted the issue that anti-poverty policies are often designed more for women and children, such as prenatal care, drug treatment, etc.
According to the panel, an essential support that is not provided to men leaving prison is an official form of identification. Men usually do not have the benefit of leaving prison with an identification card or driver’s license, which ultimately makes it more challenging to obtain work or make the preparations necessary for reintegration. To make matters more difficult, men are also not informed of their release date beforehand and have a limited amount of time to make arrangements before leaving prison. Finding a place to stay and meeting basic needs are nearly impossible. Include debts that were incurred during prison, such as child support and costs to administrative fees for parole agents- and the barriers can be insurmountable.
With a criminal record, the opportunities provided to these men are extremely limited. Since employers have wide discretion in hiring ex-offenders, jobs are in short supply. When a job is available, it is often at a minimum wage rate that would not be sufficient enough to cover the cost of living. Consequently, the panel discussed the harsh reality of how many ex-offenders are forced to find alternative ways to survive in an underground economy, such as selling t-shirts and other miscellaneous items- which do not contribute to the larger economy- to a more extreme example of selling illegal substances. Combined with the barriers in finding meaningful work and without the soft skills necessary, the underground economy has been a proven way of survival. As quoted by Joseph T. Jones, Jr.; President and Founder of the Center for Urban Families, “The street will always be there.” According to the Center for Urban Families, the economics of the drug trade in Maryland alone are so lucrative that it equates to a $16 billion industry annually.
The obstacles ex-offenders experience after leaving prison can be discouraging without the proper supports in place to ensure job placements, housing and basic needs. Policymakers should prioritize this issue by implementing policies from proven state examples. Policyforresults.org provides additional information on this important issue. The following are specific recommendations for promoting workforce strategies for reintegrating ex-offenders:
1. Enhancing workforce preparation during incarceration
Without the soft skills necessary to obtain work, ex-offenders have more difficulty reintegrating back into society. The labor force has grown increasingly more competitive, and individuals need marketable skills to secure a job and maintain employment. Recently, the GED has been revised to include additions that have made it more difficult for adults to obtain. Obstacles such as these inhibit the ability for ex-offenders to better themselves.
Policymakers can help to promote effective placement services for reintegrating ex-offenders by incentivizing employers who hire ex-offenders and expanding state partnerships with employers to help provide ex-offenders with an opportunity to find meaningful work.
3. Remove barriers to employment for ex-offenders
Policymakers can play an important role in removing barriers to employment for ex-offenders by pushing initiatives, such as Ban the Box, to prevent employers from unfairly requesting an applicant’s criminal history. In many circumstances, these records are not relevant for the position and should not have any consideration in the hiring process.
4. Improve access to work supports
Transportation, healthcare and affordable housing are just a few necessary supports that ex-offenders have difficulty obtaining. Many states revoke driver’s licenses for ex-offenders which prevent them from finding and maintaining work. Access to healthcare is essential to work preparation and has been shown to reduce recidivism. Lastly, access to affordable housing presents the greatest challenge for ex-offenders. Policymakers can alleviate the difficulties ex-offenders face in finding a place to live by eliminating “one strike and you’re out” rules that ban ex-offenders from public housing.
These recommendations can help to give ex-offenders a second chance without having to be forced into an underground way of survival. Policymakers should prioritize providing ex-offenders with the supports and services they need to find and maintain employment to reduce the recidivism rates.
For more information, please visit policyforresults.org.