A state-funded initiative is helping break down barriers to employment facing the recently incarcerated in Massachusetts.
When research last year found nearly half of people with criminal records are still jobless a year after leaving prison and 40 percent said they did not know where to get help, the Springfield Works initiative decided to shift the burden of navigating the system of dozens of available service programs.
Social service agency staff were trained to make referrals to other providers, an online platform facilitated connections, and an employment readiness assessment tool was developed. The new approach has been a great success, said Anne Kandilis, the director of Springfield Works.
“It is way more than just skills development,” Kandilis said. “There are mental health barriers, and access to childcare and transporation.”
Follow-ups with the participants in last year’s survey found that 94 percent said they know where to go to get help addressing barriers to employment. 100 percent of the clients reported a positive experience.
23-year-old Rafael Casillas, who now works for a youth development program, said the improvements made him feel like he was finally being heard.
“I just want to bring to light that even if you made a mistake it is still fixable,” Casillas said. “Your (criminal) record can be expunged and you can have a career.”
Springfield Works is now planning to engage directly with employers to break down barriers to hiring people coming out of the criminal justice system, said Kandilis.
“What does that support look like inside a company?” she said. “That is where we hope to go next.”
With millions of job openings nationwide and an unemployment rate hovering around 3 percent, the jobless rate for the recently-incarcerated is 27 percent. Fifty percent never get a callback after their initial job interview.
“What is it about us as an employer that is not opening the doors,” Kandilis said.
The Springfield Works initiative is on the right track, believes Charles Turner, 47, who has been out of prison now for about a decade and works in construction.
“There’s a lot of doors that can be opened – you gotta do the footwork,” Turner said.
A bill filed by State Rep. Carlos Gonzalez would offer a financial incentive to so-called micro businesses (places that employ fewer than 10 people) to hire someone just out of prison. The Springfield Democrat’s proposal would give these businesses $15,000, which they would be required to match and put toward the new hire’s pay.
“We are taking tax-burdens and making them taxpayers,” Gonzalez said.
In January, Springfield Works was awarded a second $500,000 grant from the Community Empowerment and Reinvestment program. $15 million is included in the state budget for the program.
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