Ex-Offenders Battle Economic Obstacles
Feature Story by civilrights.org staff - 7/28/2004
When Dominique Bowie finished serving his prison sentence in 2002, he was hoping to start his life again. He was nineteen years old, had a felony conviction for drug possession, and soon found that Milwaukee employers did not call him back once they knew about his conviction.Bowie lives at home with his mother, and sometimes he works part-time at a relative's car wash. He says that he is afraid he will return to the hustler lifestyle if his search for a job does not succeed. "All I want is a chance," he says.
Every year for the next decade, experts predict that about 640,000 ex-offenders will return from prison. Of the millions of prisoners currently incarcerated, only one-fourth is estimated to have access to vocational training in prison. This fact, compounded with the stigma of having served time, makes it almost impossible for released offenders to find a place in the workforce.
At a discussion in June sponsored by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Rep. Danny K. Davis, D-Ill., and other panelists focused on the economic impact of incarceration, the barriers that exist before ex-offenders, and minority businesses as sources of employment for ex-offenders.
Under current federal law, people convicted of drug offenses face a lifetime ban from welfare benefits and related programs. With neither the aid of welfare nor the trust of potential employers, ex-offenders end up homeless 30 to 50 percent of the time, according to a California study conducted by the Vera Institute of Justice. Also, because federal law prohibits perpetrators of certain crimes from living in either public housing or units subsidized by various assisted housing programs, including Section 8, moving in with close friends or relatives is not an option for many ex-felons.
Since employers are not likely to hire individuals with no fixed address, these men and women find it difficult to obtain regular jobs. Homeless ex-offenders, according to the Vera Institute study, are more likely to commit crimes that lead to re-incarceration.
In several states, ex-offenders cannot legally obtain public employment, and licensed occupations by states have restrictions on allowing ex-felon employees.
Ex-offenders also face the obstacle of potential employers' perceptions. According to a Michigan State University survey in 1999, two out of three employers say they will not consider ex-felons as employees.
Eddie N. Williams, president and CEO of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, believes that ex-offenders face strong structural disadvantages wrought with racism and bias.
"Everything from traffic stops to capital punishment is under reexamination," he said. "It will take those efforts and more to bring greater justice to the criminal justice system."
In May 2003, Rep. Davis introduced the "Public Safety Ex-Offender Self-Sufficiency Act of 2003" that would provide for a temporary ex-offender low-income housing credit in order to encourage ex-offenders to become self-sufficient.
"Unfortunately, as a nation, we have not prepared for these individuals as they come back to neighborhoods and communities," he said. "We must take a serious look at our correctional system and a serious look at what it takes to reform, to rehabilitate and to prepare people for reentry into normal society once they are released from correctional facilities and institutions."
