| Frequently Asked Questions
about the National H.I.R.E. Network
1. Do you offer job-placement services?
No, the National H.I.R.E. Network does not
provide job-placement services. Instead, we make referrals to state
and local government and community-based programs that directly
assist job seekers with criminal records with job training, placement,
and retention services through the “Resources
and Assistance” section of our website.
2. What kind of assistance can you
provide?
We offer a range of assistance to individuals
with criminal records, direct service providers, policymakers, and
others who are concerned about employment for people with criminal
histories.
In particular, we provide:
• Model legislation and briefing papers
to support specific policy priorities that improve labor market
outcomes for people with criminal records, including anti-discrimination,
certificates of rehabilitation, or occupational licensing and employment
standards.
• Smart solutions to employers to help them access qualified
workers, protect themselves from negligent hiring concerns, and
maximize cost-savings. We provide peer-to-peer exchange of ideas
and innovative practices that can be utilized in your community
or state.
• Advise about barriers to employment, including state laws
that affect individuals with criminal records and effective strategies
to address them.
• Information about research efforts that are relevant to
workforce development and criminal justice initiatives.
• Information and advocacy on federal legislation that directly
impact harder to employ populations, including people with criminal
records.
Because we have limited resources, we try to
direct our efforts where we can affect the most far-reaching positive
outcomes.
3. Do you offer funding for programs
that assist people with criminal records with employment issues?
No, we do not provide funding to programs that
assist people with criminal records but send alerts to National
H.I.R.E. Network members about government and private funding opportunities
that may become available. (See “How to Become a Member”
in #7.)
4. Why do you limit your policy advocacy
and technical assistance to issues related to employment, and not
other important prisoner reentry issues?
Our focus is employment and the issues that
are connected to it because that is where our expertise lies. Given
the range of issues that affect people with criminal records, we
believe it is beneficial for the H.I.R.E. Network to focus on the
employment issues, while other organizations and individuals devote
their energies to other important issues. We recognize that employment
is just one key factor in the ability of individuals with criminal
records to successfully live in society and that it must be dealt
with in conjunction with other needs such as education, drug treatment,
mental health treatment, housing, and health care. Through our parent
organization, the Legal Action Center, we are able to address most
of the collateral issues of reentry.
5. How do I get a copy of my rap sheet
or find out who can help me get employment where I live, etc.?
Visit the “Resources
and Assistance” section of our website and click on the
state for which you want information. We include contact information
for government resources and community-based agencies for every
state and the District of Columbia.
6. Given that you function as a national
clearinghouse, what else do you do to help local advocates and state
policymakers?
Through our broad membership base and a range
of meetings we have convened, we bring together policymakers, direct
service providers, and researchers from the fields of workforce
development and criminal justice policy and practice to share information
and learn from one another.
In addition, we work closely with local advocates
and state policymakers to promote public policy that will increase
the labor market attachment of people with criminal records. For
example, we offer model legislation and briefing papers to create
certificates of rehabilitation that remove automatic restrictions
placed on people with criminal records for certain jobs. (For more
information, see the “Issues and Policy”
section of our website.)
7. What does it mean to be a member
of the National H.I.R.E. Network? How much does it cost?
Membership is currently free! As a member,
you will receive regular updates from us, including a monthly newsletter,
action alerts, press clippings, information on funding opportunities,
new reports, and other information related to the employment of
people with criminal records. We will not release your name or contact
information to anyone without your permission. Click
here to become a member.
8. Where can I find a list of employers
who hire people with criminal records?
No such list exists, but please see The
Million Dollar Question: Do You Have List of Employers Who Hire
People with Criminal Histories in the “Resources and Assistance
section of our website for insights on identifying employers who
might be willing to hire job seekers with criminal records.
9. Other than those currently on
your website, do you offer any publications specific to particular
states?
Currently, we have state-specific
publications available for the following states, California,
Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. In addition, the
Legal Action Center’s report “After
Prison: Roadblocks to Reentry” offers state-specific information
on a range of legal barriers. If you are interested in using our
guides as a model for a guide for your state, please contact Roberta
Meyers-Peeples at rampeeples@lac.org.
10. Do you have an office outside
of New York?
Yes, we also have an office in Washington,
DC. Having a physical presence in Washington, DC helps us keep a
pulse on and be involved with what is going on in the Administration
and in the Congress.
11. Do you have any people with criminal
records on your staff or Advisory Board?
Yes, we are committed to hiring qualified people
with criminal records and several of the staff of the National H.I.R.E.
Network have conviction histories. In addition, our Advisory Board
includes members with criminal records. We value the insights these
individuals bring to our work on a daily basis.
12. Do you have statistical information
on recidivism and rate of employment of people with criminal records?
While we do not conduct our own statistical
analyses, we can guide you to relevant research that might be helpful
in better understanding the issues, developing programs and grant
writing. Here are some useful links:
United States Department of Justice Bureau
of Justice Statistics, www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/
United States Department of Labor, www.dol.gov
United States Census Bureau,
http://www.census.gov
Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Institute,
www.urban.org
National Urban League, www.nul.org
The Sentencing Project
www.sentencingproject.org,
The Foundation Center www.fdncenter.org
Your state’s Departments of Labor
and Corrections (including Parole and Probation Departments) can
also provide you with relevant state date on employment rates, the
number of people being released from prison, and recidivism rates.
See our “Resources and Assistance”
section for contact information for the agencies in your state.
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