Today I met with the head of our regional chamber about how the Capital Region Ex-Offender Support Coalition (CRESC) can better connect with the employer community around the issue of hiring ex-offenders. With me was Bill Peterson, Vice-Chair of CRESC and President/CEO of the Center for Community Building, Inc. in Harrisburg. We made the case that, given the budgetary pressures at all levels of government, policymakers are looking for ways to significantly save tax-payers dollars. What is starting to happen in other states (and what we believe will begin to happen in our state shortly) is that it doesn't matter if policymakers are republicans or democrats, fiscal constraints are forcing changes in the length of the incarceration of prisoners. This means that there will be increasing levels of ex-offenders currently serving time for non-violent offences that will be released into the community. For example, 40% of the 51,000 prisoners in state institutions are serving time for non-violent crimes.
The chamber president agreed the way to approach employers is to focus on how the job applicant (ex-offender or not) can meet the specific needs of the employer. He also gave a number of in-depth suggestions on how CRESC could improve its overall approach to employers. Bill and I will bring back these suggestions to the full Coalition. It was a successful meeting that demonstrated the business community's interest in improving the overall society.
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