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State highlights 'second chance' reentry pilots that show about 75% employment after release
Summary
Stanton described partnerships with corrections and local employers including a 'second chance' Wagner-Peyser program that placed staff inside a work-release facility and has produced roughly a 75% employment rate among participants; lawmakers asked about barriers including application screening and expungement visibility.
Cheryl Stanton told lawmakers the department has partnered with the Department of Corrections on a 'second chance' initiative that embeds workforce staff in work-release facilities to provide training and placement services prior to release.
"What we have found in that time period is that we have almost a 75%...75% of the people who have gone through that program show that they have earned wages and gone to work," Stanton said. Committee members pressed on employer hesitancy when applications reveal incarceration histories and asked what the department is doing to help former offenders compete for jobs. Stanton said the agency compiles 'second chance' employer lists, educates jobseekers about tax credits (Work Opportunity Tax Credit), federal bonding and employer incentives, and runs in-prison training pilots for construction, manufacturing and food services.
