12.18.23 — Northeastern Law’s Criminal Justice Task Force convened the inaugural Jail-to-Jobs Pipeline Project roundtable last month, gathering more than 20 criminal justice experts to advise and assist the task force in creating a robust structure that provides justice-involved individuals successful employment development, with the goal of reducing recidivism across Massachusetts.
In Massachusetts, 75% of people who leave prison and jail return within five years. At the same time, businesses and corporations face a labor shortage. The Jail-to-Jobs Project seeks to match employers who need workers with those returning who need jobs.
The diverse group, recruited by Criminal Justice Task Force director and founder Professor Deborah A. Ramirez, represented state and private reentry organizations and employers, and discussed many of the challenges preventing successful collaboration and resource sharing. The Criminal Justice Task Force is supported by the Center for Law, Equity and Race (CLEAR), one of the law school’s four Centers of Excellence. Ramirez serves as co-faculty director of CLEAR, which offers an interdisciplinary convening space for faculty and students and works to expand the capacity of collaborators conducting new research on questions of racial redress, restorative justice, transitional justice and reparations.
“We have an opportunity to create a robust jail-to-jobs pipeline that will provide employers with the workers they need and returning citizens with the jobs that will help them become productive members of society,” said Ramirez. “I am grateful to all of the roundtable members for helping to create the infrastructure and architecture necessary for this pipeline.”
Organizations represented included the Private Industry Council; the Boston Foundations’ SkillWorks program; the Massachusetts Parole Board, the Associated Industries of Massachusetts; the Boston Chamber of Commerce; the Massachusetts Roundtable; The Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts; the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council; the Executive Office of Public Safety (EOPS); the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLW); private reentry providers and organizations; the Massachusetts Court System’s Department of Probation; and the Community Justice Support Centers (CJSCs).
Opening the meeting, Vin Lorenti, director of Community Corrections, a division of the Massachusetts Probation Service, introduced the Community Justice Support Centers, which provide treatment, education and career counseling as an alternative to jail time.
Established in 1996, there are currently 18 of these centers across Massachusetts. They offer referrals and support for education and employment; cognitive behavioral therapy; referrals for transitional housing; help obtaining a Massachusetts identification card; and more.
Lorenti said that while Massachusetts’ incarceration rate is the lowest in the country, it is still two-and-a-half-times higher than rates in Canada and the United Kingdom. Massachusetts is the only state in the country to have created a state-wide, state-funded reentry system offering those leaving prison or jail essential reentry resources so that they may become productive members of society.
But, Lorenti said, there is room for improvement in preparing those released from prison or jail so that they do not recidivate. He emphasized that Black and Latinx residents in Massachusetts are incarcerated at much higher rate than white residents, and that these centers are working to help address systemic racism and prevent recidivism especially for these marginalized groups.
During the meeting, it became clear that many of the people at the table had never met or spoken with one another, despite having a vested interest in stable employment for returning citizens.
William Watkins, vice president of digital strategy and partnerships for the Urban League, said that despite working towards the same goals as many of those present at the roundtable, he had never met most of them before, including the chair of the Parole Board, Tina Hurley, also in attendance.
Watkins went on to discuss ways of including more key players from Black-led and Latinx-led organizations in the group. He also noted the challenges silos between organizations create within this field, and how they might best align their work to support one-another.
The group touched on several lessons learned that, if heeded, could lead to systemic change. They noted that employers need to be educated, particularly on addiction recovery, and identified a need to build trust with those referring employees.
Dr. David DeLong — author, corporate coach and long-time researcher of regional workforce collaboratives around the US — spoke of the challenges employers face when trying to engage with justice-involved individuals. DeLong emphasized that employers are usually unaware of the partnerships needed to create a successful employment match. Most often, employers need corporate coaching to teach them how to hire and retain justice-involved employees, he said. To this end, DeLong volunteered to train CJSC staff on how to become corporate coaches for employers who join the Jail-to-Jobs Project.
Andre Green, executive director of SkillWorks, spoke about the need for Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) reform. He said the current system creates a barrier for justice-involved individuals who wish to access higher-level jobs involving greater responsibility. Green also called for earlier access to training programs during incarceration.
The group hopes to meet every other month, said Ramirez, who founded the Criminal Justice Task Force in the summer of 2020. The Urban League will soon convene a reentry summit with community members so that they can be educated about the breadth and depth of resources available to their clients at the CJRCs.
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The nation’s leader in experiential legal education since 1968, Northeastern University School of Law offers the longest-running, most extensive experience-based legal education program in the country. Northeastern guarantees its students unparalleled practical legal work experiences through its signature Cooperative Legal Education Program. More than 1,000 employers worldwide in a wide range of legal, government, nonprofit and business organizations participate in the program. With a focus on social justice and innovation, Northeastern University School of Law blends theory and practice, providing students with a unique set of skills and experiences to successfully practice law.
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