Reforms to our justice system have come a long way to reduce over-incarceration. The progress is commendable but now we must take on the next step of justice reform- integrating justice-involved people back into society, starting with a fair chance at good jobs. The recent Hidden Workforce Summit shed light on local businesses leading this movement and the transformational outcomes for employers and employees – a movement we call fair chance hiring.
As the summit keynote speaker, David Emerick of JP Morgan Chase, highlighted, it is not necessarily an act of charity to open your doors to justice-involved people. They present a major opportunity. This pool of talent has gone largely untapped, yet experience shows that they are some of the most highly supervised individuals in the justice system. Court supervised training and placement programs support both hiring managers and incoming new staff with tailored strategies.
Individuals who have completed programs like drug courts or diversion programs should be recognized for the advantages they can bring into the workforce, namely loyalty, assertiveness, and compassion. Hiring managers and HR professionals will be pleasantly surprised to find that this hidden workforce is equipped with new skills, stability, and accountability. While people entering the justice system are in the midst of the worst moments of their life, after successfully moving past addiction or completing arduous programs, those same individuals are stronger and more focused than others in the hiring pool.
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