WASHINGTON, D.C. – In an opinion article published by The Hill and written by Brian Hamilton this past week, Hamilton suggested different ways Second Chance Month could improve the reinstatement of formerly incarcerated individuals looking to join the workforce.
The Hill writes “Hamilton is a nationally-recognized entrepreneur and the chairman of LiveSwitch, and founder of Inmates to Entrepreneurs, and is also the star of ‘Free Enterprise,’ an award-winning show on ABC based on Inmates to Entrepreneurs.”
According to Hamilton, Congress members reintroduced April as the “Second Chance Month,” a month that acknowledges the difficulties associated with criminal records while advocating for reform.
In reality, Americans leaving prison often return to jail or continue to be involved with the criminal justice system because of lack of access to “stable jobs and financial independence,” Hamilton explains.
The inability to find employment is one of the leading factors of the high recidivism rate, Hamilton claims. Hamilton cites the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 600,000 Americans are released from prison with two-thirds of them being rearrested “within three years.”
Hamilton states that employers conducting background checks and researching individuals on Google can reveal a criminal history that hinders the ability for formerly-incarcerated Americans to find work.
The Prison Policy Initiative finds that formerly-incarcerated Americans have an unemployment rate that is almost “five times higher than the general population,” Hamilton acknowledges.
Hamilton explains that, with financial stability seemingly unattainable, those who were incarcerated are more likely to reoffend.
In order to promote reentry and reduce recidivism, “systemic barriers” that affect persons with criminal records need to be addressed and dismantled, Hamilton writes in his Opinion Piece for The Hill.
The first suggestion that Hamilton offers proposes a change to criminal records being featured on different search engines. Hamilton posits that search engines should remove criminal records after a certain amount of time, specifically, for “nonviolent offenses.”
“With the removal of criminal records in search engines after some time, formerly-incarcerated people will be able to find work easier and not have their futures defined by their pasts,” Hamilton proposes.
While the Work Opportunity Tax Credit attempts to offer benefits for those with criminal records, it mainly benefits employers who hire people who have been released from prison in the past year with a felony conviction, Hamilton clarifies in his Op-Ed.
Hamilton offers an alternative solution, a federal tax credit program that benefits employers who hire individuals with a criminal record which will incentivize hiring formerly-incarcerated people.
Promoting entrepreneurship among those with criminal records will offer alternative employment opportunities through small businesses and self-made employment, Hamilton suggests in his Op-Ed.
With the help of entrepreneurship programs and initiatives, people with criminal records will be able to establish a business where their criminal record will not be requested or analyzed, Hamilton said, adding promoting entrepreneurship will encourage formerly-incarcerated individuals to give back to their communities and obtain financial stability.
Engaging in these reformative practices will help support the formerly incarcerated, reduce recidivism, and “foster economic growth,” Hamilton argues, noting that change for Americans with criminal records starts with the removal of institutional and social obstacles.
To follow basic American principles, Second Chance Month should rehabilitate and reinstate formerly-incarcerated individuals into society and the workforce, Hamilton concludes in his Op-Ed in The Hill.
