Adult ex-offender population and employment: A synthesis of the literature on recommendations and best practices.

Abstract - Ex-offenders face numerous challenges once release from a period of incarceration. In addition to financial, social, family, and community reintegration, they face enormous barriers to employment. Frequently, for individuals with disabilities a criminal record poses the most significant limitations. The purpose of this article is to provide a synthesis of recommendations and best practice for assisting individuals with disabilities with histories of incarceration with job search and obtaining employment. Attention is given to barriers to community reintegration, employers' hiring practices, and strategies and recommendations for rehabilitation counselors and employment specialists working with ex-offenders. In addition, policy makers, administrators, educators and rehabilitation counselor students, employers, and individuals with incarceration histories themselves may benefit from the information presented._Keywords: adult, employment, ex-offender, hiring practices, reintegrationA constellation of events and circumstances converge to pose employment barriers for ex-offenders with disabilities. In addition, probation and parole officers do not have the expertise as job developers or the unlimited resources to adequately assist offenders; therefore, they must rely on community resources such as vocational rehabilitation (Whitfield, 2009) and career counseling services (Thompson & Cummings, 2010). Rehabilitation counselors, employment specialists, and career counselors find themselves increasingly working with individuals with criminal histories among tiiose with disabilities who are transitioning into the world of work (Abdullah, 2002; Guidelines for Serving Ex-offenders with Disabilities, n.d.; Thompson & Cummings; Tschopp, Perkins, Hart-Katuin, Bom, & Holt, 2007; Williams, Dutta, Kundu, & Welch, 2008; Wormith et al, 2007). Williams et al. found that numerous factors were important in the vocational rehabilitation of ex-offender including vocational evaluation, assessment of vocational readiness, rehabilitation agency policies and scope of services, and professional preparations of placement personnel. Given the anticipated increase in those with involvement in the criminal justice system (Schmitt & Warner, 2011; Western & Pettit, 2010), rehabilitation counselors, employment specialists, and related professionals must find creative and unique ways to respond to the career development and transition of this population in personal and work-related adjustment. The purpose of this article is to present recommendations and best-practices for assisting ex-offenders with disabilities with job search and obtaining employment. Information is presented on barriers to community reintegration, barriers to employment, employers' hiring practices, and strategies and recommendations for rehabilitation counselors and employment specialists. To assist the reader in understanding the key terms used in this article, a glossary of terms is provided in Table 1. In addition, select resources are also provided in Table 2.Overview of Adult Ex-offender PopulationThe Bureau of Justice Statistics (2008) estimates that there are between 12 and 14 million ex-offenders of working age in the United States. Among these, approximately one in 33 is an ex-prisoner, one in 15 is an ex-felon, and one in 17 adult men is an ex-prisoner and one in 8 is an ex-felon. The ex-felon population is larger than the ex-prisoner population because not all felons serve prison terms, with more than half are sentenced to jail or probation only (Durose & Langan, 2007; Rosenmerkel, Durose, & Farole, 2009; Schmitt & Warner, 2011). Federal and state prisoners are disproportionately people of color, with about 40% African American and 20% Latino, and African American males constitute the highest rate of incarceration (Bureau of Justice). To date, Black male incarceration rates are nearly seven times higher than white males and Latino males have a rate twice as high as white males (Swann, 2012). …