Prison News
Returning Citizens
Anyone with a criminal record has known the anguish and frustration of trying to find a job upon release from imprisonment. Is justice truly served by employment discrimination against returning citizens. The term “Returning Citizen,” is a positive way of describing an individual released from prison. The use of the labels, ex-felon or ex-offender, have created a negative, hostile, and discriminating environment for the returning citizen. Americans are astonished at our high recidivism rates without considering their connection to the high unemployment rates for our returning citizens. An employed individual is usually less likely to commit another offense.
The returning citizen fills out the job application which demands information about a criminal record. After submitting the application, the returning citizen is not called for a job interview despite having the required qualifications. The potential employer’s mind has closed to any thought of an interview despite the applicant’s qualifications and his eagerness to work. The District of Columbia almost adopted a credible “Returning Citizens Anti-Discrimination Act.” This act would have prohibited an employer from asking questions about a prior record until a provisional job offer was offered to the applicant. An employer after receiving the information at that point could refuse to hire based upon the prior criminal record, if there was a “relevant relationship” between the proposed job and the prior record. This act would result in many more interviews that are prevented by disclosing the applicant’s record in a pre-interview questionnaire.
There is hope since other cities such as Boston and San Francisco, have adopted such reforms. The adoption of such reforms would increase job interviews and employment for the returning citizens and in the end would reduce the abnormal high recidivism rates in the United States.
I read your essay with deep interest. And, I preface my reply with: I understand many of the re-entry issues. I had a case load of 100% convicted felons and I had good outcomes with their employment statistics.
My focus is VERY narrow. My current case load is 100% transitioning Veterans. They are also called ” returning citizens”.
Employers get really upset with me if I “pitch” a re-entry citizen as a “returning citizen”.
By Cindy
Why do we have to give them a name at all? I am a returning citizen when I come back from a vacation in Europe or anywhere out of the country. Why can’t a person with a background just be a human person? If they are looking for work they are a job seeker!! If they are planning to buy a home they are a home buyer. Just like any other human! I agree that we should not “brand” someone as an ex-offender etc. it just keeps this human looking backwards and we all know that our destiny is not… Read more »
I agree with you both. Unfortunately many people who do the hiring have boxes to check about the types of people they hire. So people get put in those boxes. Sometimes its a good thing because it makes them hire more people in a certain category while other times its a bad practice. If an employer has a contract with the federal government in the US, they will have hiring goals for minorities, women, veterans and people with disabilities. Unfortunately people in reentry are not one of the goals. These goals are monitored by the Office of Federal Compliance Programs… Read more »
My advice is put the felony mentality out of your mind. You may be better off working for yourself, start a business, go back to school, get into something from the ground up that you love to do. It took me getting a felony and reforming myself to be successful. Even people with a spotless record end up getting job work all their lives and when it is over all they did was work, day in and day out making someone else money. Getting backed into a corner like myself and others can put a chip on your shoulder to… Read more »