Announcement for 12/15/08

Cities across the Country Incorporate Employment-Focused Strategies into Crime-Fighting Initiatives

Despite a general nationwide downturn in reported crime since the early 1990s, police departments and local newspapers in some cities across the country reported in 2007 and 2008 that the per capita violent crime rate in their jurisdictions has begun to creep up; in some areas the rate has increased significantly. To reduce crime, local elected officials have unveiled new crime-fighting strategies that include employment initiatives targeting people with criminal records.

On April 15, 2008, Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter announced that the city would offer any business that hires someone who has been incarcerated a $10,000 per-job credit against the city’s Business Privilege Tax for three years. According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, Mayor Nutter said, "Jobs are crucial to a comprehensive public safety plan and providing job opportunities for ex-offenders will go a long way to achieving a sustainable decrease in crime."

At any given time, the city of 1.4 million is home to 200,000 to 400,000 people returning from prison or jail, many of whom are in need of a job and support services, according to a study by the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy and Practice.

Officials in Jacksonville, FL, are also implementing innovative crime prevention strategies to reverse recent upticks in crime. According to the 2007 FBI Uniform Crime Report, Jacksonville experienced a 22 percent increase in reports of violent crimes in 2007 over the past year.

On September 23, 2008, the Jacksonville City Council approved a $31 million anticrime initiative, “Jacksonville Journey.” This initiative is a comprehensive, community-wide effort focused on prevention, intervention, and rehabilitation. Included in the $31 million is funding for job placement services, job training, and educational support for people coming out of prison.

Newark, NJ–which in 2002 had the highest per capita rate of parolees of any city in the United States, according to the Urban Institute–was recently selected by the U.S. Department of Labor as a national “learning platform” for cities across the country looking to reduce crime by implementing employment-focused strategies. In September 2008, the federal government awarded the city a $2 million grant. Philanthropic organizations will more than match this grant, contributing another $3 million.

This grant will enable Newark to design and implement a citywide reentry initiative that will bring to scale effective programmatic strategies piloted with funding provided through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Prisoner Re-entry Initiative. Over 1,200 people returning to Newark from prison will receive basic job skills and support services to help them successfully connect to the workforce.

Additional Information on Local Employment Initiatives

1. Bid Incentives: In 2007, policymakers in Cook County, IL, created an incentive program to actively encourage contractors to hire individuals with criminal records. The Reentry Employment/Bid Incentive gives construction companies that are willing to hire ex-offenders a greater chance of being awarded contracted county work. More information about the Reentry Employment/Bid Incentive can be found online at http://legacy.cookcountygov.com/Media/06_releases/ccpr_121307DawsonRelease.html.
2. Wage Reimbursements: Chicago offers a wage reimbursement to local employers who hire people who have been incarcerated under the Business Hiring Incentive Program. This $3 million program reimburses Chicago employers for up to 50 percent of a new hire's first 12 weeks of nonseasonal, full-time employment, or up to $3,500 per employee. More information about Chicago’s reentry efforts can be found online at Chicago Mayoral Policy Caucus on Prisoner Reentry.
3. “Ban the Box” Measures: Several cities and counties across the country have adopted significant new policies, also known as “Ban the Box” measures, to limit discrimination in city and county jobs against people with criminal records by removing unfair barriers to employment in their hiring policies, and several cities have even extended these hiring requirements to private vendors. This policy ensures that applicants are not asked initially to disclose past criminal convictions on employment applications. Instead, an individual's past convictions will not be considered until later in the hiring process when the applicant has been identified as a serious candidate for the position. For a comprehensive list of U.S. cities that have adopted or proposed new hiring policies, as well as a short summary of each, see the National Employment Law Project’s Nonstandard Worker Project/Second Chance Labor Project website at http://www.nelp.org/page/-/SCLP/citypolicies.cfm.htm.cfm.

To learn more about promising strategies for addressing reentry and employment at the local level, please visit: http://www.ppv.org/ppv/community_faith/community_faith_initiatives.asp?section_id=3&initiative_id=44.

All Announcements for December 2008