Employers report that a third-party intermediary or the sponsorship of a community organization makes them more likely to hire a released individual. A third-party intermediary is a person or organization that provides support and guidance for an employee who has recently re-entered the workforce. The third-party intermediary can also serve as a go-between to improve the relationship between the employee and his or her new employer. So, for example, an employer could discuss concerns about an employee's tardiness with the third-party intermediary, who could run interference, act as a decision-making resource, or provide some counseling or supervision to ensure that the problem gets corrected. Workforce specialists should make employers aware of services and resources available to support their hiring of individuals from prison or jail, including third-party intermediaries.

At a very basic level, probation or parole officers can serve as third-party intermediaries because they are already providing some supervision of the employee. The supervising agency has the power to sanction released individualswho do not comply with terms and conditions of release, which typically address employment matters such as regular attendance at work. The supervising authority may also provide incentives to the probationer or parolee who is successful in complying with conditions, such as maintaining a single job for an extended period of time. Corrections administrators can also facilitate communication with employers about a particular employee by establishing a single point of contact in the corrections system so that employers do not have to waste valuable time or resources to coordinate with various people regarding individual hires. If a prisoner is working with a transitional team, one person on the team (or one person before, and another after, release) should be the point of contact between the released individual and the employer. When the individual is released, the employer should be informed if the contact will change from a corrections staff person to an individual with a community organization, a One-Stop, or some other entity, or whether there will no longer be a contact other than the individual.

Because third-party intermediaries can make the difference between job placement, job retention, and job advancement, and because community supervision officers may only provide limited employment support, workforce developers and corrections administrators should engage community organizations, including faith-based organizations, to sponsor released individuals seeking jobs within their communities.

Example: Ready-4-Work (National)

Ready-4-Work is a faith-based, reintegration employment project. Ready-4-Work helps businesses meet staffing needs in part by collaborating with community organizations that train and mentor individuals after they are released from prison.

This sponsorship could include help with obtaining appropriate clothing, transportation, daycare, or other supports. Employers can find and engage intermediaries by contacting local One-Stop career centers, United Way offices, or other organizations that aggregate local service organizations. Many existing employment-related organizations already provide networking services as third-party intermediaries.

Example: Welfare to Work Partnership, Chicago Law Project (IL)

The Welfare to Work Partnership acts as a third-party intermediary to assist people released from prison or jail who are seeking work in Chicago law firms. Candidates are screened and then trained for 13 weeks. Two weeks into the training, each participant is placed in a part-time, paid internship with a law firm that has been engaged by the partnership. In addition, the individual is matched with a volunteer mentor from the firm. Upon completion of the training, the candidate is placed with a law firm full time and continues to receive support services (skill development, transportation, and child care assistance) for one year.

In the best case scenario, there is typically a person at a community-based organization who acts as an intermediary between the employer and the employed individual. This person supplements the work of the parole or probation agency by ensuring that the employer's needs are met and that the individual fulfills the expectations of their parole or probation re-entry plan. Intermediaries may continue to engage with individuals even after their term of community supervision is over.

Where third-party intermediaries exist, they should be promoted extensively by transition planners as a means of increasing employment opportunities and as a support for employers. Employers who have had success with intermediary programs should be encouraged to share success stories in finding strong employees through Welfare-to-Work programs. These success stories, as well as lessons learned in the course of working with released individuals, should be highlighted for prison staff and other employers.