Ex-Offender Employment Policies

Abstract

A survey of the 50 state correctional systems, the District of Columbia Department of Corrections, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons indicated that 44 of the 52 agencies have dropped whatever blanket prohibitions they may have had on the hiring of ex-offenders. Of these 44 agencies, 38 employed a total of 280 ex-offenders at the time of the survey. Slightly more than half the ex-offender employees reported upon held positions such as counselor, teacher, and correctional officer, which involved extensive interaction with the inmate population. The work performance of the ex-offenders was routinely rated as equal or superior to that of non-offender counterparts, with respondents generally advocating more widespread employment of ex-offenders in the criminal justice system.