MA Ex-Cons Still Face Tough Job Market Despite Law Change

The fortunes of former convicts seeking employment have changed little since the passage of a 2010 Massachusetts law that overhauled the state’s criminal records system, says a new report from the Boston Foundation and the Crime and Justice Institute at Community Resources for Justice quoted by the Boston Globe. The study compiled the experiences of 28 employers, advocates, criminal records officials, landlords, and legislators. It gives a first look at the real-world effects of changes to the Criminal Offender Record Information system, widely known by the acronym CORI, which had been lauded by activists as a game-changer for people with criminal records looking to reintegrate into society.

The law’s “Ban the Box’’ provision prevents employers from asking about criminal records on initial job applications. That has allowed more former convicts to get interviews, but has seldom translated into jobs, the report said. “Advocates felt that this only delays the process of rejection and leaves people with a [criminal record] feeling more hopeless,’’ the report said. “The barrier to employment has simply shifted from the application to the interview.’’ Len Engel of the Crime and Justice Institute said the report highlights the need for government and employers to better police and adhere to changes in the criminal record system. It shows the importance of educating former offenders about their rights under the new legislation, he said.

Most Employers Do Criminal Record Checks--Do They Go too Far?

The use of background checks to screen potential employees has become a billion-dollar business, says NPR. More than 90 percent of U.S. employers conduct criminal background checks, at least on some potential hires, says the National Consumer Law Center. In addition to criminal records, businesses look into all kinds of other information, such as credit reports and driving records. "Our approach has been, there should be a job for everybody, but not everyone is appropriate for every job," says Les Rosen of Employment Screening Resources, a background check firm in California.

Businesses can be liable if they don't check out workers who go on to commit crimes on the job. No company wants the embarrassment of finding out that high-profile employees fibbed on their resumes, as happened with Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson. Consumer advocates say employers have become too cautious and too nosy. "The fact of the matter is that there aren't tremendous privacy protections for job applicants and employees in this country," says Judy Conti, who lobbies for the National Employment Law Center, an advocacy group for low-income and unemployed workers. Last month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission revised guidelines on use of criminal background checks. It wasn't so much a change in policy as an attempt to clarify the rules. The gist was that on criminal records, employers should look only at those cases directly relevant to the position.

How Prisoner Re-entry Movement Faces Its Biggest Test in California

California, the nation's largest jailer. which is looking to move as many as 33,000 prisoners out of state penitentiaries over the next year, will provide...

MA Launches Criminal Background Check System, Limited to 10 Years

Massachusetts today launched a new online system to check criminal backgrounds that would provide wider and easier access for employers, but limit their...

LA Times: Rent Subsidies for Homeless Ex-Convicts 'Worth the Risks'

Getting Justice Reform Right

By JoAnne Page

In their State of the State speeches last month, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced sweeping criminal justice proposals that, if implemented, will save taxpayers millions of dollars and significantly reduce crime--but only if they are done right, says the president of New York City's The Fortune Society. 

Only 1/5 of U.S. Inmates Get Maximum Term Reduction Via Drug Treatment

Only 19 percent of federal inmates in the Residential Drug Abuse Treatment Program can finish treatment in time to earn a the maximum possible sentence reduction of a year, says the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The review said inmates over a three year period who completed the program earned an average sentence reduction of 8 months.

GAO looked at the federal prison bureau's limited ability to reduce terms. Federal prison population has risen from about 145,000 in 2000 to about 217,000 in 2011 and facilities overall are 38 percent over capacity. GAO found that almost 29,000 inmates finished sentences through community corrections in fiscal year 2010, after an average placement of about 4 months.

Helping Ex-Inmates Find Jobs Has Limited Potential: Research Review

Even if programs helping ex-prisoners find jobs may not directly reduce recidivism, they may help identify individuals who are on the path toward quitting a life of crime, says a new study in the journal Criminology & Public Policy. From a review of research, Shawn Bushway of the University of Albany-SUNY and Robert Apel of Rutgers University found that the majority of those exiting prison recidivate within three years and that employment programs have demonstrated limited potential to improve job prospects and cut the risk of recidivism.

A minority of those leaving prison do desist from crime, and evidence suggests that the process occurs quickly and as a result of decisions made by offenders to change their lives. Bushway and Apel argue that employers and correctional administrators can use the completion of a prison employment program as a signal that the individual is ready to desist from crime. In an essay in the same issue, criminologist Edward Latessa of the University of Cincinnati says that although many studies find that employment programs do not reduce recidivism, they can be potentially important catalysts for ex-inmates' quitting crime. The journal is available to members of the American Society of Criminology or for individual purchases. Journalists who want access should message Ted Gest, tgest@sas.upenn.edu.

Romney: Violent Convicts Should Not Be Allowed to Regain Voting Rights

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum took GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney to task for opposing voting rights for felons who have served their time -- and for what Santorum cast as a flip-flop on the issue from his time as Massachusetts governor, CBS News reports. During a Fox News/Wall Street Journal-hosted Republican presidential debate Monday ahead of Saturday's South Carolina primary, Santorum said a Romney "super PAC" ad suggested that Santorum "voted to allow felons to be able to vote from prison."

"I would ask Governor Romney, do you believe people who have -- who were felons, who served their time, who have extended, exhausted their parole and probation, should they be given the right to vote?" Santorum said, noting that he was speaking on Martin Luther King Day, "This is a huge deal in the African-American community, because we have very high rates of incarceration, disproportionately high rates, particularly with drug crimes, in the African-American community." Romney's answer: "I don't think people who have committed violent crimes should be allowed to vote again." Santorum noted that when Romney was Massachusetts Governor, "not only could violent felons vote after they exhausted their sentences, but they could vote while they were on probation and parole."

Pepsi Beverages To Pay $3.1 Million in Criminal Records Misuse Case

Crime Records Should Have Expiration Dates, Criminologists Say

A stunning number of young people are arrested for crimes, and those crimes can haunt them for the rest of their lives, criminologists Alfred Blumstein and...

TN Plan: Toughen Domestic Violence Penalty, Help Inmate Re-Entry

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam unveiled a public safety plan that includes mandatory jail time for repeat domestic violence offenders and tougher penalties for gun-related gang crime, says the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Anyone convicted of a crime of domestic violence for a second time would face mandatory jail time of at least 45 days, and at least 120 days for third and subsequent offenses.

State Safety Commissioner Bill Gibbons said current law presumes probation for domestic offenders unless prosecutors prove that jail time is warranted. "In Shelby County, about 30 percent of domestic violence involves repeat offenders. It's an important message for judges to be able to tell offenders that if they do it again they will go to jail," said Gibbons, former prosecutor in Memphis. The plan also would create a pilot "one-stop shop" in Memphis of services for paroled inmates returning to Shelby County. If successful, it would be expanded elsewhere. "The idea is to place under one roof everything from help with job skills to GED preparation to medical assistance, on a case-by-case basis," Gibbons said. "It's aimed at reducing the recidivism rate, which in Tennessee is over 40 percent," meaning more than 40 percent of released inmates are convicted on new charges and sentenced to prison within three years. Haslam said he will include the plan's $6 million price tag in the budget he will present to lawmakers this month. Most of the total is for increased incarceration costs.

Visiting Inmates Reduces Recidivism, Corrections Costs, MN Study Finds

Visits by family members and friends to inmates may seem mundane, but they play a significant role in improving public safety and reducing corrections costs, says a Minnesota corrections department study reported by the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Inmates who receive regular visits are much less likely to be convicted of a felony once they leave prison because they develop strong support networks while imprisoned, the study says.

Although the conclusion may seem obvious, it could trigger changes across Minnesota's state prison system, such as extending visiting hours, addressing decrepit conditions in visiting areas, and reaching out for volunteers to spend time with prisoners who've been abandoned by family. "The ability to make a successful transition from prison to rebuilding a normal life can be measured by visits and shows there are significant savings in public safety costs," said Grant Duwe, corrections research director. "Just going back to prison for a technical violation of probation violation costs $9,000 a pop, so you can see how it becomes expensive." Using a sample of 16,400 prisoners released from Minnesota's correctional system between 2003 and 2007, Duwe evaluated the relationship between prisoner visits and recidivism.

Congress Saves COPS, Second Chance, Youth Justice Aid at Lower Levels

A Senate-House conference committee agreed last night to save major federal criminal justice programs including COPS community policing, the Second Chance...

Lessons on Jail Overcrowding: A New Report Looks at Los Angeles County

A new report from the Vera Institute examines the persistent problem of overcrowding in the Los Angeles County Jail, the world's largest jail system.