NCJ Number
170637
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 76 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1996) Pages: 118-137
Date Published
1996
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on a survey that examined employer attitudes toward hiring ex-offenders and how these attitudes are influenced by the level of training the ex-offender received while incarcerated, government incentives to hire, type of offense committed, and the relationship of the crime to the job to be filled.
Abstract
Data were collected from a self-reported survey of 83 employers in the metropolitan areas of Houston and Dallas, Tex. Texas was selected as the study site because, with the exception of the District of Columbia, Texas currently has the highest incarceration rate in the Nation at 545 per 100,000 inhabitants. A survey and a follow-up were administered by mail in early 1995. Eighty-three usable questionnaires were returned from a sample of 300 employers. Generally, although the initial willingness to hire ex-offenders was low among employers, other findings show that the level of the ex-offender's education, government incentives, and the relationship of the crime to the job increased employer willingness to hire an ex-offender. The type of offense, however, when disclosed, apparently had a negative effect on employers' willingness to hire an ex-offender, particularly if the crime was violent or sexual, or involved a child victim. Limitations of the data and policy applications of the findings are discussed. 4 tables and 39 references