Post-prison job training — hechingerreport.org by Olivia Sanchez and Tara García Mathewson
We’ve known for a long time that higher education can play a huge role in helping people who serve time in prison get back on their feet. Research shows that higher-ed attainment is directly correlated with a lower likelihood of being reincarcerated, as is stable employment.
But people getting out of prison face many obstacles in finding jobs, and lack of educational opportunities is just part of the issue. A patchwork of more than 14,000 federal, state and local laws and regulations restricts individuals who have arrest and conviction histories from getting licensed in certain fields. Here’s some of what my reporting found about how pervasive this problem is and why it matters: