by Michael Karpman

Major cities, including Boston, Chicago and San Francisco, have recently adopted new hiring policies that would reduce barriers to municipal employment for former prisoners.

While former offenders would still be kept out of certain occupations, the policies align with a new public safety agenda in which cities are creating opportunities for employment, housing and drug treatment to reduce recidivism.

By focusing on crime prevention, this ?smart on crime? approach responds to the disproportionate number of former offenders re-entering society through large U.S. cities.

Polls show widespread public support across America for rehabilitation as a public safety strategy.

?On average, two-thirds of those released from prison are arrested within three years, and half of them end up back in jail,? said Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. ?Society is then forced to bear the financial and human cost of their crimes, as well as the cost of their apprehension, conviction and imprisonment. We simply have to break that cycle if we expect the crime rate to continue to fall. And that means we have to help ex-offenders rebuild their lives, connect with their families, find meaningful employment and become productive members of society.?

Chicago
Each year, 20,000 people return to Chicago after release from prison.

The city has responded to this challenge by combining new hiring policies with city grants to help former offenders learn job skills.

A report issued last January by a Mayoral Policy Caucus on Prisoner Re-entry recommended broad-ranging policy reforms, including helping former offenders gain work experience through transitional jobs.

To coincide with the report?s release, Mayor Daley announced a new policy requiring city agencies to consider the age of an individual?s criminal record, seriousness of the offense, evidence of rehabilitation and other mitigating factors before making hiring decisions.

?This change means that city hiring will be fairer and more common-sense,? said Daley. ?It means that former prisoners will have a chance to make their case and maybe land a city job. Implementing this new policy won?t be easy, but it?s the right thing to do. We cannot ask private employers to consider hiring former prisoners unless the city practices what it preaches.?

In addition, Mayor Daley announced $500,000 in new city grants for job training for former offenders and $400,000 for nonprofits and social enterprises that provide support services, such as substance abuse treatment.

Boston
Another far-reaching policy innovation is a Boston City Council ordinance that takes effect July 1.

The ordinance states that neither the city nor the 50,000 private vendors that do business with the city can conduct criminal background checks until job applicants have been found ?otherwise qualified? for a position.

This provision ensures that applicants are first considered based on their skills and makes it clearer if a criminal record played a role in an employer?s hiring decision.

Passed with the council?s unanimous support, the ordinance also requires employment decisions to consider the age and seriousness of the crime, and creates appeals rights for those denied employment based on a criminal record.

San Francisco
The City and County of San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a resolution similar to the Boston ordinance. The resolution was passed at the urging of All of Us or None, an organization of former offenders and their families, to ?ban the box? that job applicants must check off on initial job applications indicating if they have ever been convicted.

Except where state and local laws expressly bar people with convictions from employment, an applicant?s criminal record will not be considered until he or she has been identified as a serious candidate for a position.

San Francisco?s resolution applies only to public employment, not to private vendors that do business with the city and county. The new policy took effect this month.

Widespread Support for Rehabilitation
City efforts to remove barriers to employment for former offenders reflect a shift in attitudes among Americans in favor of rehabilitation. A Zogby poll released in April shows that by a 9 to 1 margin (87 percent to 11 percent), Americans favor rehabilitative services as opposed to a punishment-only system of crime prevention.

While 79 percent are fearful or concerned about the 700,000 prisoners who re-enter society each year, 82 percent felt that a lack of job opportunities and training was a significant barrier to released prisoners who want to avoid committing subsequent crimes.

Commenting on Chicago?s new policy, Mayor Daley said he was ?not looking for sympathy for ex-offenders.?

?They?ve committed serious crimes, and they deserved their punishment,? Daley said. ?But I think most Americans would agree they also deserve a second chance ? an opportunity to turn their lives around and begin contributing to society, for a change.?

Details: For more information, visit the National Employment Law Project at www.nelp.org.

To learn more about municipal initiatives to create transitional jobs programs, visit www.nlc.org/iyef or contact Heidi Goldberg at (202) 626-3069 or goldberg@nlc.org.