Today, the Second Chance Hiring Alliance (SCHA), an initiative of the Council for Court Excellence (CCE), released its latest publication titled “From Incarceration to Inclusion: How D.C. Can Lead on Reentry Workforce Innovation.”
Struggling to access employment is just one of the 40,000+ collateral consequences facing people previously convicted of crimes in the United States. The practice of second chance hiring – hiring people despite or even because of their criminal records – is one way to address these barriers. Unfortunately, while policies and practices exist to help justice-impacted people find jobs, they aren’t doing enough. Justice-impacted people are still not fully employed and workforce shortages still exist. What can we do here in D.C. to solve this problem?
From Incarceration to Inclusion: How D.C. Can Lead on Reentry Workforce Innovation examines and compares the reentry workforce ecosystems of Washington, D.C.; Prince George’s County and Baltimore, Maryland; and Denver, Colorado highlighting the various interventions and strategies these jurisdictions use to train and place justice-impacted individuals into jobs. More than 40 experts in reentry workforce issues were consulted, as were dozens of reports, pieces of testimony, budget documents, articles and more. Drawing on illuminating conversations and comparative research, SCHA identified key takeaways and opportunities that D.C. can use to improve its own reentry workforce ecosystem.
Ultimately, dismantling workforce barriers for justice-impacted individuals is both a moral imperative and a strategic advantage—especially at a time when workforce shortages persist across industries. Read From Incarceration to Inclusion: How D.C. Can Lead on Reentry Workforce Innovation to learn more!
SCHA and CCE would like to thank the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice, our Core Group members, and Piper Jackson for their support and input in this report.