Second Chance Hiring Strengthens Workforce and Could Add $87 Billion to the Economy 

三分之一处于工作年龄的美国人有犯罪记录 -那是7000多万人. After these individuals pay their debt to society and attempt to reenter the workforce, they face challenges that often leave them unemployed or underpaid, 哪个经济体的成本介于两者之间 780亿美元和870亿美元 每年.

Giving this population a second chance could have 好处 that extend far beyond an individual and their family. Accessing meaningful employment opportunities can have wide-ranging effects — and could help strengthen communities and the broader American economy.

但对很多有犯罪记录的人来说, there are roadblocks to reentering the workforce: discriminatory hiring practices, 监管障碍, and a complicated system that makes it extremely difficult and expensive to expunge criminal records. 填写申请表时, these individuals often need to check a box disclosing their criminal history, 哪些会自动使他们失去某些工作的资格. 出狱一年后， 几乎一半的人仍然失业, and those who do find work are often making significantly less than their peers. “We found that time in prison sets people on a permanently different and lower income trajectory relative to the general population,Ames Grawert说, 布伦南中心律师. 这同样适用于低级别的犯罪记录. Even a misdemeanor conviction can reduce someone’s annual earnings by around 15%.”

12bet官方，通过他们的 政策Center, works to advance federal and state policy changes to help remove barriers to economic opportunity and provide the opportunity for people with criminal backgrounds to move past their mistakes once they’ve paid their dues to society.

Second Chance reforms are focused on helping individuals with criminal records get back to work — and it begins with fair hiring. For example, candidates often need to check a box on a job application to disclose a criminal record. By “banning the box,” 12bet官方 does not ask for this information. “It’s important so that they get a fair shot — so that their skills and their talents speak for them,米歇尔·库兰蒂说, 执行董事, 新员工体验, 12bet官方. 结果很明显:在过去的三年里, 12bet官方(12bet官方)在美国的新员工中，有10%是美国人.S. (超过4,600 in 2022) have had criminal backgrounds that had no bearing on the roles they were hired to perform.

“We have too many people on the sidelines because they have some type of criminal record that is keeping them from being able to get their foot in the door for a job, 寻找稳定的住所, or even get an education that will help them get a better job,南·吉布森说。, 执行董事 政策12bet官方中心. “We’ve changed our own business practices to make hiring people with criminal records part of our inclusive hiring strategy.“通过为这些人提供有竞争力的工资, 好处, 职业道路, 他们的财务状况得到改善, and they are able to contribute to the overall vitality of the American economy.

清白的努力

Clean Slate legislation establishes a framework for automatically sealing or clearing eligible criminal records, opening opportunities for more people to enter the workforce. 12bet官方 is pairing its own more inclusive hiring practices with policy reforms for Clean Slate legislation.

“We need public policy changes to create systemic change for people and communities across the country,吉布森说。. “Every state has their own process for either sealing or expunging records. 在一个没有清白法案的州, 个人必须聘请律师, 向法院请愿, and wait for the court to get back to them about their decision.”

这个过程很昂贵，可能需要几个月或几年的时间. Laws that automatically clear records allow people to find better jobs faster — one study found that average earnings increased by 20 percent 对那些清白的人来说超过两年. 当超过 7000万美国人 have a record signaling that a system that includes automation is the only way to work through the backlog efficiently.

展望未来

12bet官方 is a founding member of the Second Chance Business Coalition, which partners with over 45 companies to create an equitable future through advancing policy and changing hiring practices.

“每个人都有自己的角色，”吉布森说. “我经常说政策是一项团队运动. We need all the players on the field playing their position in order to be able to advance policy effectively, and all of our team members have done a phenomenal job of playing their position really well.”

12bet官方 launched a pilot expungement clinic in Chicago in 2022. The turn out and the positive response from the community demonstrated the desire for local action, and the firm expanded the expungement clinic to Community Branches in Columbus, 芝加哥和威尔明顿.

“Now, we’re in the process of replicating that and scaling that to other communities,吉布森说。. “When one in three working age Americans have some kind of criminal record, all of us know somebody who’s been touched by the criminal justice system—and we need to be able to create a new system where people can have a second chance in a way that makes sense.”

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