Shutting former felons out of opportunity is economically foolish

Nearly half of all children have a parent with a criminal record, and the US is losing $87 billion a year in GDP by not employing them

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Our nation’s failed experiment with overcriminalization has burdened between 70 million and 100 million people with criminal records. That's nearly a third of the population. Millions are marked with a scarlet letter that can lead to a lifetime of closed doors.

And closing opportunities — in housing, education and, more than anything else, employment — isn't just morally wrong, it's bad economic policy. 

The two of us don't agree on much — one of us is a former Obama administration official and the other works for Koch industries. But we both believe adamantly in the need for second chances and in the economic boon our country would experience if we fully gave them to people with criminal records who have paid their debt to society. 

And while there is some momentum in Congress to enact reforms on the federal level, the fact remains that the federal system is only a small part of America's criminal justice problem. The lion’s share of criminal records come from the states, and there’s much states can do to put fair chances within reach, no matter what happens in Washington in the coming weeks.

Doesn't make economic sense

Shutting people with criminal records out of the workforce costs the United States up to $87 billion in lost gross domestic product every year. Individuals who can’t make a living legally are more likely to continue breaking the law and are likely to go back to prison, causing costs to rise even higher. Needless, preventable cycles of recidivism strain government resources — and make our communities less safe.

If a job applicant has a criminal record, his chances of getting called back for the job or of getting a job offer are essentially cut in half. Sometimes, that bias is legally mandated. Most states have multiple occupational and business licensing laws that prohibit hiring people with felony convictions. Still more legal restrictions deny formerly incarcerated people access to crucial resources like loans, credit and educational opportunities. And if these individuals want to vote to change that system — well, they often can’t do that, either.

It’s not just individuals who suffer because of this discrimination — it’s entire families. More than 33 million kids in the USA have a parent with a criminal record.

When formerly incarcerated people can’t find housing, their children are often forced to live with grandparents or sent into foster care. These challenges can lead to behavioral and school performance problems that get in the way of a kid’s future — making it more likely for that family to be trapped in a cycle of poverty for generations.

Current laws aren't enough

There are already laws that are supposed to help folks get second chances. States allow people to petition to expunge or seal at least certain records. 

Nonetheless, thanks to antiquated and complex application processes, the steep cost of legal assistance and expensive court fees, millions of eligible Americans can’t move on with their lives.

Clearing those records should be made much simpler. Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled legislature and Democratic governor managed to work together this summer to do just that. They passed legislation, known as the Clean Slate Act, that will automatically seal certain types of records once a person has shown that he's on the right track by remaining crime free for a set period. States as diverse as Michigan, South Carolina and Colorado are seeking to do the same.

It’s a commonsense move that will make a huge difference — both for individuals and for the economy. 

In Michigan, improvements for the formerly incarcerated were seen even during the first year that their records were "set aside," according to a University of Michigan study. Wages, for example, increased by 22 percent. 

And data collected by the Society for Human Resource Management and the Charles Koch Institute show that most in the business world are open to hiring and working alongside individuals with criminal records.

The midterm elections exposed the deep divisions so many feel in this country. It also marked the start of political careers for a number of state legislators and governors. As they think about what they’ll prioritize during their terms, we hope they'll take up legislation that will automatically seal or expunge records, to give people the chance to start over and strengthen their state and local economies. 

Our nation works only if we keep our promises. This is a chance for state legislators to lead the way for their federal counterparts by moving past the divisions that too often define our politics. It’s an opportunity to come together — to strengthen our communities, to support our neighbors, to give people the opportunity to succeed. When we say that everyone deserves another chance and a fair shot at the American dream, let’s make sure we mean it.


David Plouffe and Mark Holden, Opinion contributors
The original article can be found here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/policing/2018/11/23/former-felons-being-pushed-out-workforce-hurting-our-economy/2016435002/

Eric Mayo

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Jobs for Felons: Why Ex-Prisoners Struggle to Successfully Reintegrate into Society

By Dr. Michael Pittaro, Faculty Member, Criminal Justice at American Military University

Every week, more than 10,000 prisoners are released from America’s state and federal prisons, equating to more than 650,000 ex-prisoners annually reintegrating into society, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. However, recidivism rates are extremely high with approximately two-thirds of ex-prisoners being rearrested within three years of release, according to the Recidivism Center. It’s estimated that nine million offenders return to prison annually.


It’s clear that there’s not enough support to help ex-prisoners stay out of the correctional system. This is just one element sustaining the disproportionate incarceration of African American males. The likelihood of an African American male being sentenced to prison in his lifetime is one in three, whereas for a Caucasian male it is one in 17, according to The Huffington Post. Similarly, African American females are being sentenced to prison at a far greater rate than Caucasian females.

The criminal justice system needs more resources to improve reintegration efforts and help ex-offenders find adequate jobs and housing so they’re less likely to re-offend. Helping ex-prisoners successfully reintegrate into society will not only reduce costly recidivism rates, but, in many cases, will help break the intergenerational cycle of criminality.

Improving Housing Options for Ex-Prisoners

Most ex-prisoners will return to the same communities they lived and socialized in before their arrest. In many cases, these are neighborhoods that have high rates of poverty and crime, leaving many residents feeling disenfranchised from society with little access to social support programs.

In a prior publication, “Prisoner Reintegration Challenges of Assimilation and Crime Desistance,” I concluded that most ex-prisoners returning to these communities will face uncertainty over their future and animosity from a predominantly unforgiving society, as well as a multitude of personal, social, and legal barriers that prevent them from leading law-abiding lives.

Finding safe and affordable housing is difficult for ex-prisoners who often face limitations on where they can live. Many times, low-income public housing is their only choice. These housing developments are often overrun with drugs, gang violence, and other criminogenic factors. Private housing is often not an option because ex-prisoners are exclusively barred from the private housing market due to the stigma of being an ex-felon.

In some cases, even the public housing market has banned ex-prisoners from renting or leasing an apartment, which can happen if the criminal conviction was drug-related, a sexual offense, or a crime of violence as outlined in the exclusionary policies of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. If ex-prisoners are forced to return to the same destructive environment that contributed to their initial incarceration, they will often submit to the same temptations and reoffend.

Barriers to Employment for Ex-Prisoners

Along with obtaining suitable housing, finding and maintaining employment can greatly improve an ex-prisoner’s odds of leading a crime-free, productive life. However, ex-prisoners face the society-wide stigma of being an ex-convict, which severely limits the number of sustainable job opportunities available to them.

Many employers conduct criminal history checks on prospective employees and reject anyone with a criminal history. In a somewhat dated, yet significant Urban Institute study from 2003, more than 90 percent of employers surveyed were willing to consider filling job vacancies with welfare recipients, while only about 40 percent were willing to consider hiring an ex-prisoner.

Companies in the retail and service sector that require contact with customers are among the most unlikely to consider hiring a convict. Employer reluctance is greatest when the offense in question was a violent one and least when it was a nonviolent drug offense.

Many ex-prisoners are limited to working inconsistent, low-wage jobs – such as in construction or manufacturing – that make it incredibly difficult to support themselves and their families. In addition, ex-prisoners are often mandated to pay further penalties including parole supervision fees, court costs, restitution, child support, drug-testing fees, counseling fees, and more.

To complicate matters further, finding employment opportunities can be especially challenging because many offenders have limited work histories. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than one third of all prisoners were unemployed at the time of arrest.

Educational Obstacles to Finding Employment

The National Reentry Resource Center concluded that only about half of incarcerated adults have a high school degree or its equivalent, compared with 85 percent of the adult population. In Prisoner Reintegration Challenges of Assimilation and Crime Desistance, I noted that most ex-prisoners do not have viable, marketable job skills, or sufficient literacy to obtain gainful employment.

To compound matters, many prisoners have a learning disability. According to Joan Petersilia, 11 percent of prisoners have a documented learning disability compared with only 3 percent of the general adult population.

While there are some educational opportunities available to inmates while they are imprisoned, only one third of all prisoners choose to participate. Educational programming, including specific classes that focus on GED preparation, adult basic education, and learning English as a second language, would collectively improve odds of employment.

There’s no doubt that more must be done to help break down the barriers that hinder ex-prisoners from leading law-abiding and productive lives. Helping them find adequate housing and providing educational opportunities that leads to gainful employment are all critical to successful reintegration and reductions in recidivism. However, ultimate change must come from the offender. The ex-prisoner can break the cycle of criminality only by changing his or her unlawful ways. Ex-prisoners must abstain from crime, substance abuse, and other problematic areas which put themselves at risk. They must also seek out opportunities to improve their situation and put in the work and effort to lead productive and lawful lives.

About the Author: Dr. Michael Pittaro is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice with American Military University and an Adjunct Professor at East Stroudsburg University. Dr. Pittaro is a criminal justice veteran, highly experienced in working with criminal offenders in a variety of institutional and non-institutional settings. Before pursuing a career in higher education, Dr. Pittaro worked in corrections administration; has served as the Executive Director of an outpatient drug and alcohol facility and as Executive Director of a drug and alcohol prevention agency. Dr. Pittaro has been teaching at the university level (online and on-campus) for the past 15 years while also serving internationally as an author, editor, presenter, and subject matter expert. Dr. Pittaro holds a BS in Criminal Justice; an MPA in Public Administration; and a PhD in criminal justice. To contact the author, please email IPSauthor@apus.edu. For more articles featuring insight from industry experts, subscribe to In Public Safety’s bi-monthly newsletter.

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Jobs for Felons: Why Ex-Prisoners Struggle to Successfully Reintegrate into Society

Eric Mayo

Out of Prison, Out of Work: A New Normal for Ex-Offenders in North Carolina?

From The North Carolina Dept. of Commerce

The share of former offenders finding work in North Carolina within a year after release from state prison declined from 62% in 1998 to 39% in 2014. This article explores some of the factors that may be responsible for this trend, including changes in the labor market that have made it harder to find a job—particularly for blue-collar workers, and especially for former offenders.

In previous articles, we reported that the employment prospects of ex-offenders improved following the end of the Great Recession as the economy grew and the labor market tightened. However, data from the North Carolina Common Follow-up System (CFS) reveal that the post-release employment rates of former prisoners remain much lower than in the late 1990s—a potentially worrying trend.[1]

This article, while not exhaustive, offers some theories for why the fortunes of former offenders recently released from state prison have worsened since the late 1990s. Job-finding rates have declined among jobseekers in general (not just ex-offenders) in North Carolina and nationwide over the past two decades, reflecting underlying changes in the labor market that have made it more difficult to find work. One change in particular—a slump in goods-producing jobs—may be limiting the types of employment opportunities traditionally available to former offenders. In addition, the widespread practice of pre-employment background checks has placed further impediments to post-release job-finding.

The upshot: regardless of the cause, former state prisoners in North Carolina are experiencing worse employment outcomes now than they did during earlier periods of economic growth. Individuals tasked with helping ex-offenders obtain employment may find it more challenging to serve this population than in previous decades, despite the opportunities afforded by North Carolina’s red-hot labor market.

Before proceeding to our theories, we should first note that the composition of the inmate population has changed over time in ways that may have affected the employment outcomes of former prisoners. For example, North Carolina’s 2011 Justice Reinvestment Act (JRA) redirected misdemeanants from state prisons to county jails, thus increasing the prevalence of felons in the prison population. Prisoners’ education levels have also decreased over time, including prior to the JRA, and as a result they may be finding fewer opportunities for gainful employment after release.[2]

Another possible explanation can be found in labor market trends occurring during this period. It has gotten progressively more difficult for unemployed jobseekers to find work since the late 1990s. The share of unemployment insurance (UI) claimants employed within a year after layoff declined from 89% in 2000 (the earliest year available) to 82% in 2014. Similar trends can be seen in survey data; the percent of unemployed workers in the Current Population Survey finding work the following month declined from 34% in 1998 to 20% in 2014.[3]

These declines in job-finding, which mirror national trends, have occurred alongside “jobless recoveries” that feature persistently slow job growth, high unemployment rates, and pervasive long-term unemployment after the end of each recession. Economists have proposed a wide range of explanations for jobless recoveries, including the widespread slowdown in new business startups, which has cut off an important source of job growth; businesses taking advantage of recessions to streamline their operations; and structural changes in the labor market that have yielded permanent job losses in certain industries. These various forces have, individually or combined, helped create a less hospitable labor market for all jobseekers—not just former offenders.

The concentration of job losses in certain sectors—particularly “blue collar” industries—provides an additional clue in explaining the worsening employment outcomes of ex-offenders. North Carolina has followed the rest of the nation in seeing declining levels of employment in goods-producing sectors, particularly in Manufacturing and Construction. The Construction sector experienced steep job losses after the Great Recession, while Manufacturing employment fell continuously from the late 1990s through 2010. Our state had nearly 350,000 fewer Manufacturing jobs and 36,000 fewer Construction jobs in 2014 than it did in 1998.

Indeed, most of the decline in ex-offenders’ employment rates can be accounted for by fewer finding work in Manufacturing and Construction. These sectors employ a disproportionate share of former offenders; in 1998, 12% of former offenders were primarily employed in Manufacturing within a year after release, while 11% were employed in Construction.[4] By 2014, the share primarily employed in Manufacturing and Construction had fallen to 6% and 4%, respectively. Employment in these two sectors fell by 13 percentage points, accounting for most of the 23-percentage point decrease in former offenders’ employment rates. 

Finally, we note that employer hiring practices may have made it more difficult for former offenders to find work. The vast majority of employers now conduct criminal background checks on job candidates, a trend driven in part by post-September 11th security concerns and the greater availability of inexpensive background checks. The increased prevalence of background checks makes it more difficult for otherwise-qualified former offenders, particularly felons, to obtain employment; academic studies have found that employers are less likely to consider job applicants with criminal records. Among North Carolina employers surveyed by LEAD in 2018 who reported difficulty hiring, 23% reported that applicants’ criminal records were a reason for their hiring challenges. 

General disclaimers:

Data sources cited in this article are derived from surveys and administrative records and are subject to sampling and non-sampling error. Any mistakes in data management, analysis, or presentation are the author’s.


[1] The earliest data available in the Common Follow-up System for state prisoners covers the year 1997, and the latest data covers the year 2014. We calculate wages in the year after release from state prison, and treat any wage-earning during this year as an indication of employment. Around 3% of released prisoners are released from more than one period of incarceration in a given year; for these persons, we include only the last release of each year. Wage data in the CFS are based on state unemployment insurance (UI) tax records from employers, and thus may omit earnings from federal government employment, self-employment, “under-the-table” jobs, and other work not covered by state UI laws.

[2] In 2010, only 28% of exiting prisoners had completed the 12th grade or higher, compared to 43% in 1998. Source: NC Department of Public Safety, Automated System Query

[3] We use longitudinally-linked Current Population Survey microdata from IPUMS-CPS, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org

[4] Here we define “primary employment” as the sector in which a worker earned the most wages in each year. In 1998, 37% of employed former offenders primarily worked in Manufacturing and Construction within a year after release, compared to 23% of all workers in the state.

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Eric Mayo

Meet Larry, an ex-offender who got a second chance thanks to a good law

By  Ina R. Silvergleid - Chicago Sun Times

Last year, I wrote a highly critical opinion piece for the Sun-Times about Gov. Bruce Rauner after learning that he had denied clemency for a client of mine.

Given Rauner’s extreme reluctance to grant clemency to ex-offenders, even to those like my client who had gone on to live honest and productive lives for many years, I questioned why anybody would bother to file the petition.

Though I couldn’t  know it at the time, however, that same governor soon would lay the groundwork for my client to earn a second chance. In August 2017, Rauner signed House Bill 2373 into law. This legislation resulted in a significant expansion of the kinds of criminal records a judge can decide to seal from public view.

Last month, as a result of that law, a judge granted my client’s petition to seal his record, closing the book on my client’s addiction-fueled criminal conduct, which began when he was 17 and ended when he was 31.  Today, he is 51.

My client’s story, which he has given me permission to tell as long as I don’t use his real name, reminds us that people who make bad decisions as teens and young adults still can grow into law-abiding, productive members of society. If we don’t start believing in our human capacity to change — to learn from our mistakes — we will fail to see the potential in many of our fellow, returning citizens.

My client, Larry, grew up in Chicago with an alcoholic father. His mother managed apartment buildings. Neither of his parents graduated from high school. Larry himself struggled in school, and was diagnosed with dyslexia in the fifth grade. Once assigned to special ed classes, he was teased and bullied relentlessly.

The summer before Larry entered high school, he started drinking beer. By his freshman year, he was smoking weed and using cocaine. He dropped out of school after his sophomore year. A year later, he was arrested for the first time.

He was charged with felony burglary and sentenced to probation.

In no time at all, Larry had gone from high school dropout to convicted felon. His future did not bode well. It is estimated that more than 70 percent of the men and women in United States prisons did not graduate from high school.

Larry’s next arrest, for residential burglary, occurred while he was still on probation. He was sentenced to prison – the first of two prison stints he would serve before turning 20. Larry’s preferred choice of crime? Breaking into cars, though he wasn’t particularly good at it. He was usually drunk or high when arrested.

In 1990, Larry picked up his fourth — and final — felony conviction. He was spared prison, though, sentenced instead to an intensive, in-patient drug treatment.

Larry struggled with his sobriety for another 10 years. But a health scare in 2000 finally convinced him to stop drinking and drugging.

Today, Larry takes his sobriety seriously. He has been sober for nearly 18 years. He attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings three times a week.

A couple of years ago, he met his wife at an AA meeting. With her encouragement and support, he started meeting with a literacy tutor. At the time, his reading comprehension was that of a second grader. Today, he can read at a fifth-grade level.

So there you have it: Larry is sober. He can read a bit better. And he always manages to work for a living, despite his significant educational deficits. The jobs he has found, such as valet parking attendant, don’t pay well, but they are honorable and he has gotten by.

I met Larry and his wife in 2015 and filed his clemency petition in 2016. While the petition was pending, Larry was selected to be a participant in the CTA’s Second Chance Program, cleaning buses and rail cars. Recently, he completed his second full year in the program.

Earlier this year, shortly before a judge granted his petition to seal his criminal record — made possible by the law Rauner signed — Larry learned that his name has been added to the CTA’s hire list.

Over the years, Larry has learned not to give up on himself. And today, he says at age 51, he feels like a “different man.”

He’s a man of few words, but on the day after the judge granted his petition, he called me to say thanks.

How did he feel?

“Really, really good,” Larry said with a chuckle. “Like I never got in trouble before, though I know I did.”

Ina R. Silvergleid is a Chicago attorney and owner of A Bridge Forward LLC. She specializes in helping people with a criminal background eliminate barriers to employment, professional licensing and housing.

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Eric Mayo