Have record, will work: Inmates prepare for jobs

BOISE – Sometimes the hardest question a former inmate can face comes on a job application.

Have you ever been convicted of a felony?

“In some cases I’ve put down that I have been a felon and I didn’t get hired, and in other cases I put down that I haven’t been a felon and I got fired after they found out,” said Rico Camarillo, a 53-year-old who is again serving time at the South Idaho Correctional Institution for drug possession. “I just got to be honest with myself and my employer. Hopefully, when I do get out, I’m not too old to get a job.”

A recent survey by the Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor suggests that many employers would consider hiring ex-offenders, especially in industries like construction, welding, landscaping and small-engine repair. That’s encouraging to Department of Correction leaders, who say a steady job can help keep ex-offenders from falling back into a life of crime.

The attitude among Idaho employers reflects a national trend toward hiring more former inmates, said Christy Visher, a researcher at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C.

“Several states have been looking at this issue, and Illinois is trying to pass legislation that would open up some restricted jobs,” such as city-based laborer jobs, Visher said. “In Florida, Gov. Jeb Bush issued an executive order telling agencies to look at their prohibitions against hiring ex-offenders and see if they’re appropriate.”

Studies done by Visher and others suggest that finding and keeping a job makes former inmates less likely to return to prison, though there’s little long-term data.

“The bottom line here is saving money,” Visher said. “If you can get these former prisoners employed, they’re less likely to go back to prison so that reduces the cost on the correction budget.”

Idaho’s vocational education program is paid for using grant money, and only limited statistics are available about the program’s success rate, Department of Correction spokeswoman Melinda O’Malley-Keckler said. Between Oct. 1, 2003, and September 30, 2004, more than 1,400 Idaho inmates took part in vocational education classes. Of those, 522 were released on probation or parole during that year, and 127 – about 24 percent – found work during that time period.

Search for job can be intimidating

But even with the trend turning in their favor, former inmates attempting life on the outside often find the hunt for work daunting.

“As soon as we’re out, we have classes we have to attend and pay for, we have to make restitution, we have to find a good place to live,” said 46-year-old Kevin Frandsen, serving time at the South Idaho Correctional Institution for possession of methamphetamine. “We’re expected to be up to speed with the rest of the world.”

Frandsen has been in and out of prison since 1978, a record he blames on his drug and alcohol problems.

“We all have some kind of an -ism: alcohol, drugs, anger, sticky fingers, thrill seekers,” Frandsen said. “Because of our issues, we don’t communicate well with normal people.”

The inmates are taught ways to communicate better and other “soft skills” needed to find and keep jobs by William Cody, a vocational educator with the Department of Correction.

He advises inmates to always stop and think about the consequences before they act on a selfish impulse – say, stealing cigarettes from a co-worker or boss. He also teaches them ways to approach employers that highlight their best qualities.

“If I know that you were born and raised on a ranch, then I know you know how to work. If I find out someone is from a ranching or farming background, I don’t doubt their work ethic,” he told 23-year-old inmate Kris Verzwyvelt during a recent class.

Verzwyvelt did grow up on a ranch, but went to prison after being convicted of burglary. After his release, he hopes to find work as a restaurant cook while attending a technical school. Someday, he hopes to become a draftsman.

Hiring rate may depend on economy

In the survey by Idaho Commerce and Labor, fewer than half of employers in the professional, scientific or technical service fields said they would hire an ex-offender.

“As the demand for workers increases, ex-offenders may be a source of labor to meet potential shortages in several skilled occupations,” Idaho Commerce and Labor research analyst Salvador Vazquez said. “However, if the economy slows down, employers may not be as willing to hire ex-offenders.”

Nearly 80 percent of the 236 employers surveyed by the department said they would consider hiring ex-offenders to fill open positions. Still, many of those open positions were in the service and labor sectors: Nearly 87 percent of the businesses that hire welders said they would hire an ex-offender, with average wages of $14.97 an hour.

Small-engine repair had the second highest potential for employment, according to the news release, and landscaping jobs had the third highest potential.

“All the men and women being released from prison know they need a job, but because they have skill deficits, education deficits, criminal histories and a lack of employment history, employers don’t consider them to be good candidates,” Visher said. “But that’s starting to change.”

Large cities around the country are starting to try to match job openings with the people who are coming out of prison, she said. Still, many jobs – such as truck driving or forklift operation – can require weeks of training. Many newly released inmates go months without finding a job.

“The percentage of people who are employed at two or three months after their release varies across the states, but the lowest I found was in Chicago, where only 16 percent were employed. In Ohio, about 32 percent were employed, and in Texas, 29 percent were employed,” Visher said. “So across the board, a little less than a third of former inmates have a job.”

For Camarillo, who like many of the inmates has been in and out of prison, the ethics and skills training represents a chance to succeed on the outside.

“If I would have had this a long time ago, maybe I wouldn’t have had to come back to prison,” he said. “I’m just going to hope for the best and focus on not coming back again.”