According to Pager, Securing a job is the number one priority for most people when they are released from prison. However, Civilians coming out of prison have a hard time securing a job and are posed with a high risk of economic insecurity. This is due to the fact that most people coming out of prison are highly discriminated against on the basis of being uneducated and addicted to substance use. Additionally, society views the ex-prisoners as unfit to live in society. Being convicted of a felony bans them from entirely engaging in some job occupations. Once convicted of a crime and incarcerated, society’s perspective changes, and hence, the person is subjected to social stigmatization. However, the government has set up measures to ensure that ex-prisoners get employed to prevent them from retaliating to their old habits.
The government has set up special prison education programs to ensure that prisoners secure job opportunities. For instance, the work-for-success program in the United States has been established to train prisoners while still in prison. Most of the prisoners are given vocational training and credentials on how to effectively relate with their employers and society as a whole (Skarðhamar and Kjetil). This is to ensure that they gain skills and knowledge that they can apply once released. This training enables them to refrain from cases of discrimination in the labour market. Additionally, the program contracts with some organizations, such as construction companies, in order to find positions for the prisoners once they are released. Moreover, the Work for Success program follows up on the performance of the ex-prisoners from the employers that hired them (Visher et al. 300). This is to ensure that they carry out their duties smoothly and effectively. The Work for Success program believes that training the prisons helps dispel the stigmatization which currently exists in the labour market and society. According to them, the remedy for stigmatization is education.
Additionally, the government has established community supervision programs, for example, parole, which constantly communicates with the state regimes and could be leveraged in order to ensure the former prisoners have access to support and essential services such as food and shelter as well as probation services to help refrain from substance use ( Petersilia). These services act as survival strategies that enable them to regain economic independence and stability. The government has provided housing and other material support to most ex-prisoners. The established community programs are vital in helping the ex-offenders re-integrate back into society.
The government ensures that all offenders get proper identification prior to being released from prison. Having access to secured identification prior to release removes the anticipated barriers to employment. Moreover, it prevents the squandering of valuable transition time as the employees wait for their identification to be released. Additionally, the government can provide incentives to employers such as tax reduction and credits, liability protection, and bonding programs. These incentives would ensure the employer is against any losses that may arise from working with the ex-offenders. Also, the incentives encourage employers to hire former prisoners by offsetting their training and hiring costs.
The government can improve the conditions of ex-offenders by removing some legal laws that restrict their economic independence. The government should remove legal barriers which restrict former prisoners from being employed. The state laws and policies end up making life difficult for them in their attempt to re-enter society as better people. For instance, the laws which suspend driving licenses for ex-offenders make it hard for them to find jobs as drivers (Visher et al. 700). Additionally, this law makes it difficult for them to commute to work once they find the job, and hence, in turn, inconveniencing them. In this essence, the government can play a significant role in promoting the transition process of ex-offenders through the removal of these legal barriers that make some occupations inaccessible to them.
The government enhances the ex-prisoner’s change by enforcing reforms that increase the chances and likelihood of getting them employed. In this essence, the government postpones the questioning of applicants’ criminal history during the hiring process. This gives them the opportunity to secure jobs. With the help of the government in concealing their criminal history, the ex-offenders are in a position to secure job positions in occupations that don’t hire personnel with criminal records. On the other hand, postponing the question on one’s criminal history during the interview process gives the employer enough time to assess the level of the ex-offenders skills and analyze whether they are fit for the job vacancies.
When appropriate, the government should act as role models to other employees by first hiring ex-offenders. Hiring them would depict the seriousness of the state in helping them secure job opportunities and help them in their transitional journey. The level of success possessed by the government in securing and maintenance of qualified employees will positively impact the other employee’s inclination to acquire similar policies. Hiring them would also depict that the ex-offenders are fit to work and carry out different responsibilities responsibly, hence counteracting the popular belief that the ex-offenders are irresponsible and not capable of cooperating and working.
Work Cited
Pager, Devah. Marked: Race, crime, and finding work in an era of mass incarceration. University of Chicago Press, 2008.
Petersilia, Joan. When prisoners come home: Parole and prisoner reentry. Oxford University Press, 2003.
Skarðhamar, Torbjørn, and Kjetil Telle. “Life after prison: The relationship between employment and re-incarceration.” (2009).
Visher, Christy A., Laura Winterfield, and Mark B. Coggeshall. “Ex-offender employment programs and recidivism: A meta-analysis.” Journal of Experimental Criminology 1.3 (2005): 295-316.
Visher, Christy A., Sara A. Debus-Sherrill, and Jennifer Yahner. “Employment after prison: A longitudinal study of former prisoners.” Justice Quarterly 28.5 (2011): 698-718.
