Solutions: Create an Enhanced Employability and Employment Protection Policy
(1) Invest in additional pre- and post-release programs that support job-readiness, talent assessment, and placement among formerly incarcerated individuals.
(a) Continue to support in-prison education and employment-focused programs offered to incarcerated individuals. Only with a strong skill set will re-entering men and women have a chance to reclaim their lives, become responsible members of our communities, and support their families.
(i) Invest in recidivism-reduction programs. In order to better prepare inmates to re-enter the community – and thus reduce the risk of recidivism – TDCJ offers eligible individuals the opportunity to participate in employment readiness programs at the Windham School District (WSD), which operates within TDCJ’s Correctional Institutional Division. WSD offers assistance with literacy and life skills, provides Career and Technology Education, and includes a Continuing Education Division to offer individuals the opportunity to participate in college courses and Project Re-Integration of Offenders (RIO).
In response to H.B. 2837 (effective 2005) – which, among other things, required WSD to develop educational and vocational training programs and evaluate the effectiveness of such training services provided to inmates – WSD conducted a study of the Career and Technology Education programs and their impact on post-release employment:
− From April 1, 2005, to March 31, 2006, 69,883 individuals were released.
− 39,817 individuals met the criteria for the study (e.g., they had a Social Security Number, they had not been released on a bench warrant, etc).
− 24,841 formerly incarcerated individuals (62% of those studied) had a matching income and were considered employed.
− 12,204 formerly incarcerated individuals (31% of those studied) were still employed on the first anniversary of their initial employment.[i]
The State must continue to invest in the programs offered at WSD and provide more pre-release training programs that teach soft skills (problem solving on the job, interviewing skills, effective communication and negotiation with supervisors and fellow employees, and anger management skills). It should also allocate additional funding to accommodate a larger number of participants interested in following the path to responsibility and success.
(ii) Allow for the in-cell education of inmates confined in administrative segregation. The average length of stay for inmates in administrative segregation in Texas is between two and three years, although some inmates remain much longer. They spend almost 24 hours per day confined in a small cell with little or no human contact. Although they are allowed library and law books, they are denied the right to study for and earn a GED or have any other educational materials or instruction. Some inmates are released into the community directly from administration segregation, totally unprepared for living in the free world. Allowing in-cell tutoring – as long as it would not pose a threat to the health or safety of any staff member or other inmates – would boost re-integration efforts of former “ad seg” inmates by giving them minimal skills and education that may offer them some hope at living a productive life.
(b) Give probation and parole officers access to a centralized job-matching system where employers who will hire formerly incarcerated individuals can post their openings. Based on the participation of formerly incarcerated individuals in the above-mentioned pre-release training programs, as well as in other educational and work-readiness programs, they will be better prepared to meet job readiness and retention criteria, in turn allowing the State to attract and retain the participation of quality employers.
(i) Give parole and probation officers the authority similar to Project RIO to bestow tax credits already provided by the federal government to employers willing to hire formerly incarcerated individuals who are under the supervision of parole or probation officers.
(ii) Boost parole officers’ salaries. Over the last several years, parole officers’ salaries have not increased at the same rate as those salaries for comparable professions. A salary hike will allow the parole division to attract and retain highly qualified individuals.
(c) Standardize a therapeutic culture within TDCJ’s Parole District Reentry Centers (DRCs) – where the Texas Workforce Commission’s Project RIO employment services are provided – and enhance the services they offer. The Parole Division’s DRCs provide cognitive intervention, pre-employment assistance, victim impact classes, anger management classes, and substance abuse education. According to TDCJ, DRCs also conduct a regularly scheduled “New Arrival Orientation” where formerly incarcerated individuals receive additional information regarding community efforts, resources, and services. Providers from outreach programs, vocational programs, faith-based programs and educational programs present brief overviews, and offer brochures and contact information for their programs. Approximately 12% of people served by DRCs are there voluntarily, while 88% use the services in tandem with parole visits.
To begin standardizing a therapeutic culture in DRCs, the Parole Division should provide staff trainings on cultural sensitivity towards stigmatized clients, and it should develop value-based mission statements for DRC staff. These mission statements should have at their foundation an acknowledgment of rehabilitation and the preservation of public safety.
The State should also evaluate the current use of funding that, as per the Workforce Investment Act, is allocated towards Project RIO – which provides a link between education, training, and employment during incarceration with employment, training, and education after release. (Essentially, all individuals released to parole supervision are referred to Project RIO services, meaning Project RIO expands upon WSD services through assessments, referrals, and ongoing training.) Based on the State’s evaluation, it should identify how to enhance funding utilization and, in turn, the quality and provision of services.
(a) Provide legal protection to employers willing to give formerly incarcerated individuals a second chance. The State should prevent employers (including general contractors, premises owners, and other third parties) from being held liable solely for hiring or contracting for hire an individual who has been convicted of a non-violent offense. More specifically, employers should not face lawsuits prompted by the criminal or tortuous acts of an employee who had a non-3g status,[ii] with the exception of gross negligence and liability regulated under Labor Code Title 5, Workers’ Compensation. Employer liability increases hiring costs for businesses and exposes them to potential damages. Encouraging more employers to give formerly incarcerated individuals an opportunity to re-integrate into the workforce and avoid returning to crime can increase public safety and boost the economy.
Note: This protection should only exempt the employer from liability arising directly from the decision to employ a formerly incarcerated individual, and should not affect vicarious liability incurred through the employee during the course of his or her employment.
(b) Remove barriers that prevent formerly incarcerated individuals from obtaining licensing for jobs that are not directly related to the crime committed. Current Texas licensing requirements are requisite for a significant number of occupations, including air conditioning and refrigeration contractors, electricians, water well drillers, dog trainers, manicurists, and many others. Former felons cannot currently qualify for many of these licensed positions, severely limiting their economic opportunities.
The State should allow for the provisional licensure of individuals convicted of non-violent, non-sex-related felonies. Specifically, crimes older than 5 years should not count against an individual’s eligibility for professional licenses, and those with a recent criminal history should be granted a 6-month temporary license on the condition that they not break laws or administrative rules and not become revoked from parole or probation. Successful completion of the provisionary period could result in the granting of a full license, while failure to comply would result in disqualification of the license.
Essentially, by expanding the range of possible vocations available to those who have committed a non-violent offense, the State can encourage them to support themselves by applying their particular skill sets, in turn encouraging personal responsibility and reducing the likelihood that they will remain unemployed or return to crime.
(c) Grant expunctions to individuals who successfully complete a term of deferred adjudication community supervision. Deferred adjudication is a tool that enables judges to give a fresh start to defendants who they believe can be successfully reformed and deserve a second chance. Currently, defendants who successfully complete deferred adjudication still retain an arrest record for the offense, even if it has been discharged and dismissed by a judge. District courts should be permitted to expunge the arrest records of certain defendants upon successful completion of their deferred adjudication and after the discharge and dismissal of the charge. This will give individuals a chance to move forward and avoid the obstacles and stigmatization brought on by a criminal conviction.
Note: Expunction should not be available to defendants charged with murder, capital murder, manslaughter, indecency with a child, sexual assault, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, or injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual.
[i] Jeff Baldwin, e-mail message to Ana Yáñez-Correa, May 13, 2008.
[ii] 3g offenses include aggravated kidnapping, robbery and sexual assault, indecency with a child, murder, sexual assault of a child or adult, and any felony with a deadly weapon.