January Audioconference Will Highlight City Hiring Initiatives Promoting Reentry of People with Criminal Records 

by Abby Hughes Holsclaw

City efforts to assist people with criminal records in reentering the workforce and avoiding recidivism will be featured in a free, hour-long audioconference on Thursday, January 18, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

The audioconference, titled “Banning the Box: Facilitating the Reentry of Jobseekers with Criminal Records into the Workforce and Community” is hosted by NLC’s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families, the National Employment Law Project and the National HIRE Network.

To view a fact sheet on city policies, click here.

Call Content

In the past year, several major U.S. cities, such as Boston; Chicago; St. Paul, Minn.; and San Francisco, have adopted significant policies to limit discrimination in city hiring practices against people with criminal records. The new policies seek to enhance public safety by ensuring that those with records are given employment opportunities to help them become productive members of their communities.

“Implementing this new policy won’t be easy, but it’s the right thing to do,” said Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley when he announced his city’s reentry initiative. “We cannot ask private employers to consider hiring former prisoners unless the city practices what it preaches.”

Building on the momentum and interest generated by these new hiring initiatives, the audioconference will foster discussion on using municipal policy to create a more fair and effective hiring process that expands the qualified pool of applicants available for city jobs while removing unreasonable barriers to employment of people with criminal records.

Public Attitudes Toward Rehabilitation

Polls show that the vast majority of Americans support rehabilitation as a means of improving public safety.

An April 2006 Zogby poll 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.

In addition, 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.

Speakers

The call will feature the following speakers:

• Angie Nalezny, human resource director, City of St. Paul;
• Angela Rudolph, assistant to the mayor, City of Chicago;
• Chuck Turner, councilmember, City of Boston, which designed a model ordinance on municipal hiring practices; and
• Dorsey Nunn, director, All of Us or None, the lead group representing people with criminal records that successfully advocated for hiring reforms in several California cities. 

These experts will discuss both the details of their policies and how they built consensus in support of their initiatives.

How to Register

While the call is free, it is available only to a limited number of participants. Advance registration is required by close of business on Tuesday, January 16. A separate registration is needed for each phone line that will be used to listen to the call.

One day prior to the event, each registrant will receive an e-mail or fax message providing a toll-free, dial-in number to use in joining the audioconference.

To register for the audioconference, e-mail or fax your name, title, organization, mailing address (including street, city, state and Zip), telephone, fax and e-mail. No telephone registrations can be accepted. You may e-mail iyef@nlc.org, or send a fax to (202) 626-3043.

Details: For questions, leave a message on the information line at (202) 626-3014.