THE NEED

 

The problem of released prisoners obtaining steady jobs is a long-standing one. It is an issue that is slowly transitioning to being a publicly recognized problem, because the costs of incarceration are spiraling ever higher; something taxpayers can ill afford. The question is beginning to be raised about why the recidivism rate is so high. The current level of recidivism, which is 46%, is financially unsustainable with nearly half of all released inmates returning to incarceration within the first three years of release. The question being posed is “How can we do something to reduce the number of people returning to prison?”

 

With nearly 70 million people who have had some kind of jail or prison experience, the need to develop better solutions to getting, keeping or creating jobs is evident. Ban the Box efforts are spreading at the state and local levels across the country.

 

President Barack Obama has now begun to look at the opportunities to identify evidence based practices and implement what works to break the recidivism and incarceration cycle. He cites the impact on families when people go to prison, especially when juveniles get swept up into the system as a result of the lack of support as they make mistakes at a very young age or as he says are "young people who make mistakes." If they are given different opportunities and another vision of life, they could be thriving.

 

There, but for the grace of God...