CEO, the Center for Employment Opportunities, has expanded beyond New York State, where it began, to more widely offer employment services to those with recent criminal convictions. Focusing its attention on California, the nonprofit opened offices in San Francisco and […]
Milk Not Jails promotes dairies, opens minds, helps ex-offenders
In a unique New York endeavor, probably the only one of its type in the country, an organization known as Milk Not Jails is working to develop the dairy industry as an alternative to the prison economy as a means […]
S.F. Bay Area labor shortage offers ex-offenders opportunities
With an estimated $20 billion worth of construction-related projects underway and planned for the next few years, the San Francisco Bay Area is already facing a labor shortage that offers opportunities for ex-offenders who have skills or who are willing […]
Correctional facility One-Stop helps inmates prepare for employment
In a unique venture that may be the only one of its kind in the country, MongtomeryWorks of Montgomery County, Md. sponsors a One-Stop Career Center at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in the town of Boyds. Operated by Workforce […]
Emphasizing strengths can help ex-offenders find employment
As job developers, when you deal with ex-offenders it’s important to assess them using a strength-based process rather than beginning with the many barriers they face. Or so says Larry Robbin, a nationally known expert in the area of workforce […]
Kindness can help you in your job search and your life
While kindness may not be a qualification listed on too many job descriptions, being kind to others and to yourself will go a long way toward making you attractive as a potential employee and a person others will want to […]
Home of Chicken & Waffles’ Derreck Johnson creates recipe for success
There’s no denying that hiring ex-offenders can be challenging, but more people have to do it if we’re ever going to lower the recidivism rate. And maybe they would if they listened to Derreck Johnson, owner of San Francisco Bay […]
Stanford law student helps female ex-offenders launch businesses
With so many barriers to employment, many ex-offenders find that starting their own business provides a better option than working for someone else. While entrepreneurship has its own challenges, those with creative ideas and determination can succeed, perhaps with a […]
Ban the box gains victory at Oakland Army Base redevelopment project
The latest victory in the movement to “ban the box” comes courtesy of local activists in Oakland, Calif. It will affect the application forms for the nearly 5,000 employees who will be hired to work on the soon-to-be-redeveloped 366-acre site […]
Using the radar approach to help clients achieve job retention
Helping your client get a job is not enough. That’s just the first step in the process. The biggest challenge is job retention, and job developers need to train both employees and employers on how to help those with barriers […]