Each year, more than 725,000 people reenter their communities from prison, with a disproportionate number returning to cities.  In response, municipal leaders have established innovative local hiring policies that increase the chances that these individuals will find work, live within the law, and give back to their communities.  The National Employment Law Project (NELP) and the YEF Institute highlight these local models in this strategy guide made possible by support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The guide features a range of strategies to encourage employment of people with criminal records, such as efforts to leverage development funds and the expansion of municipal bid incentive programs to promote local hiring priorities.  The guide also highlights an emerging trend in which cities “ban the box” that asks about an individual’s criminal record on city job applications.  Twenty-three cities and counties have now implemented ban-the-box policies, deferring criminal background checks to the end of the hiring process and creating a level playing field for all job applicants. 

Read the full guide.