– Photo by John Meiu
Speakers at the employer workshop included (left to right) Gail Cober of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Janella Robinson of the Michigan Department of Corrections, and Michele Hall and Kelly Bidelman of Legal Aid and Defender Association.
Legal Aid and Defender Association Inc. (LAD) sponsored a free informational workshop for employers on the opportunities for and benefits of hiring the formerly incarcerated or those with criminal records on Thursday, March 26, at Michigan First Credit Union in Lathrup Village.
Speakers included representatives of LAD, the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC), and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); two employers with experience in hiring former offenders; and three former offenders recently released from incarceration.
“If you have been reluctant to hire our ‘returning citizens,’ those three speakers will change your mind,” Joan Glanton Howard, chief counsel of LAD’s Civil Law Group, said.
Employers were informed of the advantages of hiring former offenders, including tax credits, state and federal bonding programs, and the new Certificate of Employability issued by the MDOC to ex-offenders that have completed certain training and educational programs. They also learned about prisoner reentry programs, potential liability for refusing to hire former offenders, criminal background checks and community safety.
“One of the greatest concerns of our clients is employment, and ex-offenders face even higher hurdles than most,” Michele Hall, deputy chief counsel of LAD’s Civil Law Group, said.
“There are 80,000 ex-offenders in Michigan in parole or probation community supervision,” Janella Robinson, a prisoner reentry specialist with the MDOC, said. “Our population is looking for a chance.”
Robinson cited the success of the MDOC’s Prisoner Reentry program. Before the program, the recidivism rate among former prisoners was 50 percent. Since the program’s implementation, the rate has fallen to 29 percent and promises to fall even further, she said.
Kelly Bidelman, managing attorney of LAD’s offices in Macomb and Oakland countries, said LAD has been involved in the Prisoner Reentry program for 10 years. “Recidivism rates are lower if ex-offenders get jobs and housing,” she said.
One of the experienced employers said, “My biggest problem is with local government officials” who don’t want former offenders living and working in their communities.
Gail Cober, director of the EEOC’s Detroit field office, discussed issues of discrimination, saying the EEOC “looks for race or nationality discrimination in employment.” She also discussed “blanket bans” to hiring former offenders and background checks. “Most employers now do criminal background checks,” she said.
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