For Employment Provider Professionals
Reports
-
Training Offenders for Life and Work: An Assessment of Texas’ Project RIO. This study by John Marcus West of Texas State University describes the ideal characteristics of a model offender reintegration program based on a review of the literature. It also details a limited case study and assesses Texas’ Project RIO (Reintegration of Offenders) using the ideal characteristics. Finally, it make recommendations that should assist all offender reintegration programs in helping offenders more effectively in the reintegration process. (2007, 92 pages)
-
Working with Conviction: Criminal Offenses as Barriers to Entering Licensed Occupations in Texas. This paper by Marc Levin of the Texas Public Policy Foundation asserts that "To maximize the productivity of Texas’ workforce in a tight labor market, we must fully utilize the skills of the 20 percent of Texans with a criminal record. While ex-offenders who are employed are three to five times less likely to re-offend and more likely to pay restitution and child support, Texas law precludes some of them from entering over 100 licensed occupations. Through targeted reforms such as provisional licenses, licensing authorities can expand economic opportunity for ex-offenders seeking to turn their life around while still protecting the public." This report lists statute barriers to 20 occupations, discusses Occupations Code Section 53.021 (which is the umbrella stature to nearly all licensed occupations) in detail, and discusses the definition of "moral turpitude." (November 2007, 15 pages)
-
Project ReIntegration of Offenders (RIO), a project of the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), is offered through the TWC WorkSource centers that offer full services. This project caters to the special needs of people with convictions on their record by offering employment readiness training and referrals.
-
The National H.I.R.E Network, a division of the Legal Action Center, provides exceptional information for practitioners who need employment resources for formerly incarcerated people. The network includes a valuable list of Texas agency and organization resources and a list of resources for prospective employers.
-
Statutory Restrictions on Convicted Felons in Texas. This is a user-friendly guide to the Texas statutes that restrict convicted felons from obtaining licensure in all occupations. This was uploaded to this website with permission from the Texas State Law Library. The most recent (2005) changes per statute may be found by going to www.capitol.state.tx.us, clicking on “Sections Affected,” and then entering the section and code of interest, as found in the statutory restrictions document. (March 2002, 34 pages)
-
Report of the Re-Entry Policy Council: Charting the Safe and Successful Return of Prisoners to the Community contains several chapters that address employment. Chapter 15: Education and Vocation Training; Chapter 16: Work Experience; Chapter 21: Creation of Employment Opportunities; Chapter 22: Workforce Development and the Transition Plan; Chapter 28: Job Development and Supportive Employment; and Chapter 31: Workforce Development Systems. Other useful tools include the descriptions of employer incentives to hire formerly incarcerated people, and the use of One Stop Shops (like the Texas Parole District Reentry Centers) and Certificates of Rehabilitation for ex-offenders to facilitate employment. (658 pages)
-
From Hard Times to Full Time: Strategies to Help Move Ex-Offenders from Welfare to Work. This guide, prepared under the direction of the Division of Welfare-to-Work of the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration (DOL/ETA) and by the Legal Action Center, provides a great problem definition and strategy guide in the section How Can You Help Participants with Criminal Records Become Employed? It also offers several helpful strategies that will improve the employment opportunities for clients with criminal histories. (June 2001, 41 pages)