In June, the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) released its research on data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, to author a report estimating that there were between 14 and 15.8 million working-age people with felony convictions in 2014. The full report is available here.
Prior research suggests the negative impact that time in prison or a felony conviction can have on a person’s employment prospects. According to CEPR, "In addition to the stigma attached to a criminal record, these impacts can include the erosion of basic job skills, disruption of formal education, and the loss of social networks that can improve job-finding prospects. Those with felony convictions also face legal restrictions that lock them out of many government jobs and licensed professions".
Some highlights of this study include:
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Between 6.0 and 6.7 percent of the male working-age population were former prisoners, while between 13.6 and 15.3 percent were people with felony convictions.
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Employment effects were larger for men than women, with a 1.6 to 1.8 percentage-point decline in the employment rate of men and a 0.12 to 0.14 decline for women.
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Among men, those with less than a high school degree experienced much larger employment rate declines than their college-educated peers, with a drop of 7.3 to 8.2 percentage points in the employment rates of those without a high school degree and a decline of 0.4 to 0.5 percentage points for those with college experience.
Questions: What are your experiences working with learners with prior felony convictions, or time spent in prison? What career guidance and counseling do you use in helping these individuals plan for future employment, and career pathways? Even if you have no knowledge or experience working with these individuals, what is your interest in learning more about better serving this population?
Mike Cruse
Career Pathways Moderator
michaelcruse74@gmail.com