Dealing with "The New Scarlet Letter": What Research Tells Us about Negotiating the U.S. Labor Market with a Criminal Record

Transcription

1 Dealing with "The New Scarlet Letter": What Research Tells Us about Negotiating the U.S. Labor Market with a Criminal Record Webinar 2014 NNSP Virtual Conference December 5, 2014

2 Jim Torrens Program Manager National Network of Sector Partners (NNSP) Insight Center for Community Economic Development

3 Steven Raphael Professor of Public Policy UC Berkeley

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5 Related webinar later today Friday, December 5 11:00 AM 12:30 PM Pacific Improving Employment Outcomes for People with Criminal Records Lessons from Per Scholas and New Century Careers For more details about these and other webinars in the virtual conference, visit

6 @NNSP #NNSPVC

7 Participate in online discussion and networking about apprenticeships and sector initiatives after this webinar.

8 Open and close your Panel Check your audio Submit text questions Note: this webinar is being recorded. After the webinar, links to the recording, slideshow, and supporting materials will be sent to the address you provided. They will also be posted to the virtual conference resource page:

9 Steven Raphael Professor of Public Policy UC Berkeley

10 THE NEW SCARLET LETTER: NEGOTIATING THE U.S. LABOR MARKET WITH A CRIMINAL RECORD Steven Raphael Goldman School of Public Policy University of California, Berkeley

11 Incarcerated per 100,000 Figure 2.1: Comparison of the Total U.S. Incarceration Rate to Those of Other Nations (Data for Various Years from 2008 through 2011) Source: International Centre for Prison Studies, World Prison Brief 2011.

12 Prisoners per 100, The Number of State and Federal Prisoners per 100,000 U.S. Residents: 1925 through

13 Why are so many Americans in prison? We re more likely to punish convicted felons with prison than we were in the past (especially for drug crimes) Those we send to prison now serve more time (especially for violent crime). BOTTOM LINE: Policy, Policy, Policy

14 Characteristics of the labor market for former inmates and those with criminal histories: The supply side What goes to prison? Who is currently in prison? Who is released from prison?

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21 Characteristics of the labor market for former inmates and those with criminal histories: The demand side Which employers are willing to hire? How often do employers check criminal history records and how? Do employer preferences and screening practices impact the employment outcomes of former prison inmates?

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23 Table 4 Frequency With Which Employers Check the Criminal Backgrounds of Job Applicants for Non-Managerial, Non-Professional Jobs Always Sometimes Never All Establishments By stated acceptability of applicants with criminal records Definitely accept Probably accept Probably not accept Definitely not accept By whether they are legally prohibit from hiring a convicted felon into the position Felons prohibited Felons permitted

24 Proportion of Establishments Methods Used to Acquire Information on Applicant Criminal History Records Among Establishments that Check Ask applicant Query the state Attorney General Background check through a security firm Other method

25 Firms that are unwilling to hire convicted felons Are concentrated in retail trade Are more likely to be hiring into jobs requiring customer contact Are less likely to be planning to expand, more likely to be planning to contract Hire more educated workers Are less likely to hire black applicants (black men in particular) Pay more ($13.79 vs. $13.03)

26 Employers that check criminal backgrounds Larger Relatively concentrated in manufacturing, health services, and other services More likely to hire women and African-Americans Pay more ($14.41 vs. $12.05)

27 Employers prohibited from hiring convicted felons Are concentrated in health services and other services Are under-represented in retail trade, construction, and manufacturing Are more likely to hire women and African-Americans Pay more ($14.73 vs. $13,43)

28 Effect of employers preferences and screening on employment outcomes of former inmates Audit studies Econometric studies comparing earnings and employment trajectories Using large panel data set Using administrative records Involvement with the justice system and the timing of employment and earnings declines

29 Policy Options Effectiveness of workforce development efforts Job search assistance, skills remediation, cognitive behavioral therapy, transitional jobs Scaling back the use of incarceration Better triaging of the reentry population (using labor market intermediaries as a screening and signaling mechanism) Sharing the risk with employers

30 CC photo credit: Colin_K

31 Related webinar later today Friday, December 5 11:00 AM 12:30 PM Pacific Improving Employment Outcomes for People with Criminal Records Lessons from Per Scholas and New Century Careers For more details about these and other webinars in the virtual conference, visit

32 Join us immediately after the webinar for online discussion and networking about apprenticeship and sector initiatives. To participate, search for the NNSP group in LinkedIn or visit for more information.

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34 After the webinar.

35 Thank you! Jim Torrens Program Manager National Network of Sector Partners (NNSP) Insight Center for Community Economic Development

36 CC photo credit: psd