Finding Success in Fair Chance Hiring
A few weeks ago we talked about untapped and overlooked talent - and the beautiful opportunity that you have to see people through the lens of their potential, not through the lens of their difficulties. If you missed that show, be sure to check it out wherever you get your podcasts - it features Maria Kim, CEO of REDF, and Lauren McCann, founder & CEO of Procure Impact.
Today we’re going to dive a little deeper into one particular group of overlooked talent: folks with an arrest record.
Here is some background information from The Sentencing Project:
“The United States is the global leader in incarceration. Today, more than 1.5 million Americans are incarcerated in state and federal prisons, a figure that has quintupled since 1980. Adding in jails, the number of Americans who are behind bars rises to 2.2 million. One in three U.S. adults has been arrested by age 23. Communities of color; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals; and people with histories of abuse or mental illness are disproportionately affected. As a result, between 70 million and 100 million—or as many as one in three Americans—have some type of criminal record. Having even a minor criminal record, such as a misdemeanor or even an arrest without conviction, can create an array of lifelong barriers that stand in the way of successful re-entry. This has broad implications for individuals’ and families’ economic security, as well as for our national economy. Mass incarceration and hyper-criminalization serve as major drivers of poverty; having a criminal record can present obstacles to employment, housing, public assistance, education, family reunification, building good credit, and more.”
Now think about this: you and your business can be part of the solution. My guest in this episode is going to help us bust some myths and paint a picture of how to successfully incorporate fair chance hiring into your employee success story.
Ken Oliver is Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at Checkr, Inc., and the Executive Director of the Checkr Foundation, Checkr’s 501(c)(3) corporate foundation. Checkr’s mission is Building a Fairer Future of Work by designing technology for all, while its foundation seeks to reshape the narrative and provide pathways to sustainable employment for the 80M Americans who suffer from an arrest and conviction record. Ken's professional expertise spans the landscape of philanthropy, DE&I, Clean Slate, talent development, change management, and public policy. In 2020, he co-founded and became the Executive Director of a nonprofit organization where he designed an innovative reentry model focused on providing justice-impacted individuals with career pathways in tech and the knowledge-based economy. He then led an effort that secured a $28.5 million investment from the State of California to build the first of its kind residentially based tech training campus in the country.
Listen to this episode full of powerful ideas at VoiceAmerica.com or wherever you get your podcasts (links on the right side of the page)
