“I See You Have Been Convicted Of A Felony; Can You Tell Me About That?” Workforce Development Challenges for Restorative Citizens Seeking Employment

Authors

Terrance Hinton, Walden UniversityFollow

Keywords

Reentry, Workforce Development, Correctional Education

Abstract

Incarceration has been an issue nationwide in the United States for decades due to policies from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s that lead to mass increases in incarceration. In the past decade, several states have overhauled their criminal sentencing and prison structure to lower prison populations. This has resulted in the release of thousands of restorative citizens and has expanded the need for reentry services. Released individuals who have been incarcerated face a number of social, political, and economic barriers that prevent them from re-entering society successfully. The inability to obtain employment is often cited as one of the most important factors that contributes to recidivism, which also has negative implications for the general public. This paper examines the barriers that restorative citizens and the social workers who assist them face in helping them find suitable and sustainable employment. The author also highlights workforce instructional methods utilized in the H.I.R.E. program that have been effective in assisting restored citizens in landing job interviews and securing employment. Finally, the author also explores solutions for collaboration across criminal justice and non-profit agencies for the purposes of increasing employment opportunities for restored citizens returning back to the community.

Author Bio

Terrance Hinton has a PhD from Walden University and has worked in reentry education and workforce development projects for a number of years. He currently serves as Reentry Program Manager of the HIRE and EDGE workforce development program for a nonprofit agency called Alvis Incorporated in Columbus, Ohio and also serves as an adjunct professor.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.25771/a0zz-1109

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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