11 Second Chance Employment Services For Felons

The main stress when you get out is how are you going to support yourself and eat and take care of your children.  And it’s really sad because I’ve seen so many people from my past go back into prison because they’ve been unable to reintegrate.

Agencies help felons navigate the job market

HiCORP works with programs like Resonance to find employees in need of a second chance as well as taking in those who have not received re-entry assistance from an area agency.

The National H.I.R.E. Network

it's free. They help you find employment search assistance in your local area. This is a gold mine of information for ex-convicts searching for jobs.

Xamire.com

Xamire.com is a website that calls itself felon-friendly. It is a newer website but it lists some resources and businesses by state that are helpful and amenable to former convicts. 

One Stop Career Center

Meet with a counselor and be honest about your background so that the person who is trying to help you knows what you are facing. He or she will likely have contacts in the local area with employers and other resources for people who are transitioning from the criminal justice system back into the workforce.

America Works

 The participants get weeks of training beforehand and once they get a position, they receive follow-up and support. America Works has offices in New York, D.C., Wisconsin, California, Maryland, Illinois, and New Jersey.

Local or State Employment Agencies

Employment agencies may have some information to help someone with a felony conviction find a job. Find your local agency to get started.

Chrysalis

Many of these participants are ex-felons. This organization has several offices in the Los Angeles area.

Delancey Street Foundation

You apply for admission to the program; if accepted, you then reside at one of the facilities, learn marketable skills, and get a job in one of the Delancey Street Foundation organizations. Locations are in California, New Mexico, New York, and North Carolina.

Safer Foundation

The Safer Foundation offers educational programs, employment services, and housing assistance for people in the program. This organization works mainly in Illinois and Iowa.

Baker Industries

This organization serves as a headhunting service for companies who need permanent or temporary employees. Baker Industries is located in Pennsylvania.

Prison Entrepreneurship Program

the former inmates receive a welcome back into the "real world" with support and supplies to lower the risk of reoffending. PEP also helps with training, job placements, and also any entrepreneurial aspirations that the former felons might have.

Doe Fund

This program is 9-12 months long and offers training, housing, education, and transitional work services.

Traditional newspaper ads

Job search engines

Cold calling

Going through governmental or community assistance programs

Also see: what-states-do-not-require-background-checks-for-jobs

According to a report from PEW Charitable Trusts, past incarceration reduces wages by 11 percent, cuts annual employment by nine weeks and reduces yearly earnings by 40 percent.

“Ban the box” is a growing movement aimed at removing the box that asks about arrests or convictions when people are applying for jobs.

A 2017 count of Oklahoma’s corrections system found 34,710 people under supervision, 25,730 in state prisons and 1,569 in county jails awaiting transport to state facilities