From PR Newswire:
Jobs for the Future (JFF), a national nonprofit driving transformation of the American workforce and education systems, today announced the launch of a new center in partnership with the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center that will help adults with criminal records secure meaningful employment. With funding from the Justice and Mobility Fund, the Center for Justice and Economic Advancement (CJEA) will break down barriers to reentry and economic advancement for people with criminal records.
"People with records are too often shut out of opportunities in society, especially employment," said Lucretia Murphy, associate vice president at JFF and director of the Center for Justice and Economic Advancement. "Education, training, and fair chance hiring can help create the conditions for people with records to thrive in the workforce and ultimately help employers find and retain the talent to meet their hiring needs."
Each year,more than 650,000 individuals are released from state or federal prisons and enter the job market. One year after release, more than 75 percent remain unemployed and only 55 percent report having any income. Incarceration has a disproportionate impact on people of color: Black Americans comprise about 38 percent of the prison and jail population but only 12 percent of the U.S. population. [CG1] In addition,racial discrimination and inequity in the labor market exacerbate the stigma of having a criminal record for Black people. Economists estimate that excluding previously incarcerated individuals from the workforce reduces the U.S. annual GDP by $78 billion to $87 billion each year. Continue reading >>>
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