Some Companies Willing to Give Ex-Cons a Second Chance

A large number of research studies show that getting a

job is nearly the most important step in preventing

recidivism. Many who read about this information

assume that while someone in a small town might

offer a job because the job seeker is a known community

member the chances in a large city are nil. This article

indicates that there are companies willing to give a

person a second chance, obviously with limits on the type

of crime committed. What is most impressive is that the

fair was held with some hired in such a poor economy.

Fair for job seekers with convictions deemed a success

Posted Friday, Sep. 25, 2009

BY SCOTT NISHIMURA

snishimura@star-telegram.com

Organizers of Tarrant County’s second annual Felony and/or Misdemeanor Friendly

Community Career Fair pulled it off Friday, albeit with a lot fewer employers and job seekers.

The organizers invited 170 job seekers — out of 1,000 who registered — to attend

the fair at Tarrant County College South Campus in Fort Worth. Eight employers

willing to consider prospects with felony or misdemeanor convictions signed up.

That contrasts with 800 job seekers invited to last year’s fair and 40 employers

who participated.

The economy dealt a blow to the number of interested employers.

As for the drop in job seekers, who had to clear a number of hurdles

including attending an orientation workshop before being invited to the fair,

"we challenged them a little bit harder this year," said Victor Pratt,

a state contractor who places ex-offenders in jobs and was responsible

for screening job seekers for the fair. "Some of them were weeded out."

Organizers, who had considered postponing the fair to give employers more time

to sign up, declared it a success, based on feedback from the employers

and the face time the job seekers got with them.

"This population has to sell itself, and this was a lot more intimate"

than last year’s, said Angel Ilarraza, coordinator of the Tarrant County

Re-Entry Initiative, which directs strategy for successfully re-integrating

ex-offenders back into the community and organized the fair.

Some of the employers, like Southstar Logistics Llc. of Texas, which

runs a Kroger distribution center in Keller that serves 89 stores, detailed

what kinds of criminal backgrounds it will consider.

Southstar outlines 44 crimes and its policy for considering an ex-offender

three years after conviction, seven years after, and more than seven years.

Minor traffic offenses? No problem. Murder? No. And in between: DWI.

No, within three years of conviction, yes after that.

Debbie Averett, human resources supervisor, said she hired three people

from last year’s job fair, including one man who sent along a testimonial

to be read to this year’s job seekers. A large part of the company’s

philosophy in considering ex-offenders is in giving second chances, she said.

Yvette Kent’s JMC Jewell Management and JMC Professional Services,

umbrella companies for several businesses including construction,

tax, and notary, were looking for employees.

Kent said she needs people for several construction projects and

will consider job seekers with felony convictions, except for crimes

involving abuse of children, women or the elderly. She said she trains

employees in necessary skills, and requires her employees to have a

high school diploma or GED, or to commit to pursuing a GED,

which she pays for.

"We all come from somewhere and our own struggles," she said.

Scott Nishimura, 817-390-7808