Employment Challenges for Ex-Convicts: Barriers to Reintegration and Labor Market Access
Statistics
Getting an employment opportunity can be a challenging task, especially for ex-convicts who are returning to the community. This assertion is supported by various research in criminology, which has shown the adverse effects of criminal records on the chances of a person securing employment. Almost one-third of the adult population in the United States has a criminal record (Blumstein & Nakamura, 2009).
Moreover, Blumstein and Nakamura (2009) posit that over 95% of employers in the same country do a background check on their potential employees to look for any traces of criminal conduct. The check implies that those people with any criminal records are less likely to get hired than those without. This poses a severe problem for offenders looking for ways to return to society.
Employment is one of the crucial ways of reducing recidivism. Abeling-Judge (2020) posits that employment has consistently been associated with lower levels of criminal activity and greater success in desistance from crime. Therefore, a lack of access to employment will result in increased levels of criminal activity.
Limited Opportunities for Offenders
Ex-prisoners face various external or internal obstacles that make it hard for them to reintegrate into society after serving their sentence. External challenges may involve legal barriers, while internal challenges may include low self-esteem. For instance, some US states have restricted former inmates from pursuing careers like teaching, nursing, and law enforcement. These limitations curtail their employment options and hinder their ability to pursue vocations they may have a genuine interest in.
In addition to legal barriers, offenders are also faced with inadequate resources when it comes to identity documents, appropriate clothing for interviews, and even transportation costs. The lack of these resources makes it hard for them to attend interview sessions and secure good employment opportunities. Finally, poor self-concept, negative beliefs, and a lack of knowledge about their interest can make it challenging for them to believe in themselves and thus explore and pursue their goals to their full potential. Their cynicism about their abilities can also result from their past mistakes and prison experience.
Lack of Social and Employment Skills
In addition, ex-felons usually do not have the required social and marketable employment skills. This is because many of them either have gaps or poor employment histories that are a result of imprisonment or previous criminal activity. Moreover, poor education and substance abuse may also contribute.
Long jail periods and prison sentences, in which the offender cannot maintain contact with the abilities they acquired before entering prison, impact cognitive thinking. Before entering jail, the majority of inmates held steady occupations. However, extended absence from their job and not being able to practice and develop their skills while incarcerated make them ineffective and unfit for the same job they were once qualified for.
In addition, some offenders are incarcerated at a young age and are required to serve prolonged sentences before being released. These prisoners enter the penal system as teenagers or in their early twenties and are not released until many years later, when they are ready to seek employment. During this time, they miss the crucial formative years when they should ideally pursue higher education. However, due to limited educational resources within most prison systems, prisoners cannot acquire the education necessary to find suitable employment upon release. Consequently, the limited education and reduced cognitive abilities obtained during incarceration further diminish their chances of securing employment.
These gaps in their employment lead to a lack of work experience and, in some cases, outdated skills in their specific areas. In his article, Twentyman (1978) emphasizes the importance of training offenders looking for employment in social skills. According to him, many of the ex-convicts are not equipped with the necessary social skills for obtaining and maintaining employment. These skills include communication, problem-solving, and conflict resolution.
Therefore, Twentyman contends that social skills training is essential for offenders as it will enable them to develop these skills, thus increasing their likelihood of finding and keeping a job. This is because a lack of these skills may limit them in the jobs they can get, further hindering their reentry into society. It may further pose a challenge when competing for employment opportunities with applicants who have the skills.
Abeling-Judge (2020) further supports the argument that employment is a significant obstacle for offenders returning to the community. Abeling-Judge states that the desistance effect of employment refers to the positive impact of employment on reducing an offender’s likelihood of reoffending. However, she also notes that employment access is unequal among all offenders. For example, ex-offenders with more severe criminal records or inadequate job skills may face more challenges getting a job. In addition, those under close community supervision, such as probation or parole, may have restricted employment options due to the limitations imposed by their supervision.
Negative Stereotypes and Stigmatization
Moreover, ex-offenders are frequently subjected to negative stereotypes that result in discrimination in the job market. This bias can manifest even when ex-offenders possess the necessary qualifications and skills for a position. The associated stigma significantly limits the employment prospects for ex-offenders. Abeling-Judge (2020) posits that employers often see ex-offenders as “risky” or “untrustworthy,” which can impede their ability to secure employment. This, in turn, creates a cycle of exclusion and stigmatization that can make it challenging for ex-offenders to reintegrate into society and contribute positively to their communities.
Most job recruiters or firms require work experience to determine and select the best candidate for the position being filled. This is one of the most challenging obstacles for an ex-convict because they have minimal recent employment experience. Work experience gained in jail or before incarceration is typically insignificant and serves no value because the skills acquired would have died.
After several years in prison, an individual’s job experience before their imprisonment may no longer be relevant to the current job market (Hardcastle et al., 2018). Former inmates may struggle to find work upon reentering society, as their skills and experience may be outdated because of the ever-changing demands of the workforce market (Hardcastle et al., 2018). This can severely limit their employment options and earning potential.
Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Health Problems
Ex-offenders are in a precarious situation after being released from jail, since they are often abused by both their own families and the general public. Some of these inmates are forced to engage in drug misuse, which they may or may not have done before being locked up. These issues harm their prospects for finding employment, and their inability to pay for treatment or rehabilitation worsens the situation.
Moreover, drug abuse can affect the ability of an offender to secure and maintain a job. This is because currently, many employers need a drug test as one of the requirements for employment (Bebbington et al., 2021). A positive result can therefore result in a loss of a job. It can also lead to criminal behavior, making it difficult for ex-prisoners to pass a background check.
The environment inside and outside of prisons also has a significant impact on the mental health of inmates, which can cause depression and other mental health challenges. Mental health can hinder the ability of offenders to secure employment and function effectively in society. These issues can be exacerbated by the stress of reentry into society.
Common mental health problems among ex-prisoners include depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Bebbington et al., 2021). Symptoms of depression and anxiety, for instance, can affect an ex-prisoner’s ability to interview, perform well on the job, and interact with coworkers. PTSD can also make it difficult for them to adjust to a new work environment, particularly if they experience triggers related to their incarceration.
Reentry Challenges
Many offenders lack the resources and support needed to find suitable employment. Sometimes, they lack stable housing, reliable transportation, or access to job training programs. According to a report by the Prison Policy Initiative (2021), formerly incarcerated individuals often face significant barriers to obtaining employment due to their criminal record and lack of resources (Donaldson & Viera, 2021).
Finally, inadequate reentry programs have not provided offenders with the necessary resources and support to overcome the barriers they face when seeking employment. Some reentry programs lack the necessary funding or staff to provide offenders with job training, job search assistance, or other support services that can improve their chances of securing employment (Donaldson & Viera, 2021). These barriers further limit their access to opportunities and exacerbate their risk of reoffending.
References
Abeling-Judge, D. (2021). Social opportunities and controls: Revisiting the desistance effect of employment. Deviant Behavior, 42(9), 1177-1193. Web.
Blumstein, A., & Nakamura, K. (2009). Redemption in the presence of widespread criminal background checks. Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 47(2), 327-359. Web.
Bebbington, P. E., McManus, S., Coid, J. W., Garside, R., & Brugha, T. (2021). The mental health of ex-prisoners: Analysis of the 2014 English national survey of psychiatric morbidity. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 1-11. Web.
Donaldson, V. M., & Viera, C. (2021). College after prison: A review of the literature on barriers and supports to postsecondary education for formerly incarcerated college students. John Jay College Institute for Justice and Opportunity, 4-37. Web.
Hardcastle, L., Dowse, L., McGillivray, J., Newton, D., Rowe, S. D., Crosbie, J., & Giles, M. (2018). A qualitative study on the experiences of ex-prisoners who are seeking employment, the experiences of practitioners who work with ex-prisoners who are seeking employment and the models of practice used. Web.
Twentyman, C. T., Jensen, M., & Kloss, J. D. (1978). Social skills training for the complex offender: Employment seeking skills. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 34(2), 320-326. Web.