Today approximately 77 million Americans, or 1 in 3 adults have a criminal record. While not everyone represented in this statistic has experienced incarceration, 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 are underway to revamp 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.
This event recording is the second part of a two part series by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program. The first event, A Hidden Workforce: Prison Labor, Human Rights, and the Legacy of Slavery, explores the history and conditions of work for incarcerated people and ideas for creating more humane and dignified work for those behind bars.
