The sheriff of Jones County, Georgia, has created a second chance employers program that helps local companies find employees and those leaving the county’s jail find jobs.
It’s a simple initiative that any sheriff’s department could replicate. With minimal effort, agencies can help reduce recidivism, strengthen the local workforce and create new opportunities for people returning to their communities after incarceration.
Jones County covers a small area of central Georgia. The population is around 29,000. The county seat is Gray. And many of its residents work in nearby Macon, which is Georgia’s fourth largest city with a population of approximately 147,000. Small town Gray’s claim to fame is that it has the No. 1 selling Dairy Queen in the world – and one of the only sheriff’s departments with a second chance employers program, as well.
How the program began
It all came about last year when Madilyn Madray, the department’s public information officer, saw some information on Facebook about second chance employers.
“It’s something that I thought would be a good thing to include on our website,” she says “We have people in Jones County who would hire people who had just gotten out of jail. So, I took it to the sheriff, and he thought it was a good idea too.”
Twenty companies have already joined
That good idea has had a great response from local employers, and 20 companies have already signed up to be listed on the Jones County Sheriff’s Department’s Second Chance Employers page
One of them is Robert Bentley Roofing. Robert “Bo” Bentley knows the difficulties that those in reentry face. He was in and out of prison and served nearly five years on drug charges.
“God saved me and set me free,” he says. After getting out of prison he reestablished his former roofing business about six years ago. He has three or four employees, depending on the workload, and several have come from the sheriff’s program.
“I get calls from people all the time. And I hired four or five people who contacted me from the list. A couple that I hired are still with me after six months and are still doing good,” Bentley says.
Other businesses on the list include:
- 587 Soul, a barbecue restaurant in Macon.
- Cherokee Brick, founded in 1877, a company that produces 350 million bricks per year that are sold throughout the South, Midwest and Eastern U.S.
- DeLong’s Gizzard Equipment, a manufacturer of chicken processing equipment.
- Middle Georgia Staffing Solutions, an employment agency.
- The Spirit Moves, a moving company.
Publicizing the program
Employers find out about the program through word-of-mouth and the Jones County Sheriff Department website, as well as local newspaper and television news coverage. They can sign up through a link on the website.
“Employers can fill out a Google form, and I call them and talk to the business owner or someone high in the company who can confirm that they do hire people with convictions. And those that have confirmed I add to the page,” Madray says. It’s as simple as that.
The process is straightforward and requires very little administrative effort.
The sheriff’s office makes sure individuals leaving jail know about the opportunity.
“When we release people into the public from our jail, we tell them about the opportunity. We let them know that there are these second chance employers, and they’re willing to hire you,” Madray adds.
A model worth replicating
The Jones County Sheriff’s Department’s Second Chance Employers program demonstrates how a simple idea can create meaningful change. By connecting motivated job seekers with employers willing to see the whole person, communities can improve employment outcomes, support successful reentry and reduce recidivism.
Most importantly, it is a model that can be implemented by virtually any sheriff’s department, regardless of size or budget.
The question is: Could your agency do the same?
Join us in our effort
If your agency operates a second-chance employment initiative, we invite you to join us.
We were so impressed by what Jones County has accomplished that we added their Second-Chance Employers Program to our own Second Chance Employers Network.
To help publicize programs, we would be pleased to also add similar initiatives from sheriff’s offices, correctional agencies, probation departments and community organizations across the country to our network.
