On July 29th Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) held their first ever GRACE conference—GRACE being an acronym for “Growth through Reentry to Advance Careers & Employment.” The purpose of this conference was to bring awareness to the value of hiring individuals that have been justice-involved, and implementing a Second Chance program to ensure their success. A Second Chance program provides the hired individual with up-skill training, resources, and guidance throughout their employment experience.
The event was hosted at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort in San Antonio and included an audience of those working in human resources, education, government, and more. Guests were welcomed by Julian Alvarez III, Texas Commissioner Representing Labor, who introduced Adrian Lopez, CEO of Workforce Solutions Alamo. While explaining the importance of second chance employment, Lopez expressed, “a city as diverse and culturally rich as San Antonio does not turn its back on those that went down a different road.”
The all-day event included multiple panelists speaking on subjects such as
- The successful hiring of second chance individuals
- The types of education and training available to those who are incarcerated
- How TWC can assist and be a resource for second chance employers
- Innovative services provided by nonprofit partnerships
These panels provided valuable information on creating and executing an effective Second Chance program within an organization. When discussing how to successfully hire justice-involved employees, panelists provided advice such as paying a living wage, setting clear expectations, and creating a positive/welcoming culture. Other recommendations included offering reentry resources—like access to transportation, food bank resources, financial literacy classes, mental health access, and even soft skill development. Considering this advice, it seems it would be difficult to choose which suggestions would be considered the most valuable. However, all panelists agreed, it is compassion that will make you the most successful as a Second Chance employer.
It was asserted multiple times during the panels that companies who took a chance on justice-involved individuals not only experience a higher retention rate, but also saw higher levels of performance and efficiency. In his keynote, Texas State Representative, Carl Sherman addressed the importance of reentry programs and employing justice-involved individuals by explaining, when employment opportunities are provided to individuals coming out of the justice system, their sense of dignity and purpose is restored. Representative Sherman stated that these reentry programs are a contribution to society and are “changing cycles of destruction and creating a lot of hope.”
RESOURCES
One of the programs for reentry, offered by TWC, is the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC).Through this, employers are eligible for a tax credit when hiring individuals with specified barriers to employment. Tax credits are available for hires in multiple categories, including the justice-involved, for whom a tax credit of up to $2,400 is available.
For more information on this, and other workforce resources, click here.
If you are interested in hiring those who have been justice-involved please reach out to:
Cynthia Rivera Program Director at Chrysalis Ministries 210-299-4540 Ext: 116 or crivera@chrysmin.org
Diana Rivera Employment Specialist at CrossPoint RRC diana.rivera@cpsatx.org