Reentry Reform in Ohio?

In December of 2008, the Ohio legislature enacted House Bill 130. Among other things, this legislation created the Ohio Ex-Offender Reentry Coalition (OERC), staffing it with 17 statutory members--all of whom are state government employees, and none of whom are former offenders. OERC, subsequently, selected 15 other persons to serve on the coalition as members-at-large, including one (1) former offender.

OERC's mission, as expressed on it's website www.reentrycoalition.oh.gov, is "to ensure successful offender reentry, reduce recidivism and enhance public safety." Toward that end, House Bill 130 mandated that OERC annually report to the legislature on ways to better achieve those worthy goals. OERC's initial report is still pending but I've learned something about the thinking of some on the coalition that disturbs me.

OERC has established an Employment Workgroup to consider the difficulties former offenders encounter when seeking employment. That Employment Workgroup is developing a proposal for what it terms "Employment Access Certificates." Fundamentally, such certificate provisions amount to good public policy, often providing legal protections for employers who hire holders of a certificate from lawsuits alleging "negligent hiring" when something untoward happens in the workplace involving a former offender. Also, certificate provisions often remove legal barriers in state laws to the employment of former offenders in any number of professions which require state licensure. I support and encourage the Employment Workgroup in its work to craft a fair and reasonable set of proposals for the certificates.

My concern, however, centers upon the issue of eligibility for the proposed certificate. The minutes of several OERC meetings, as well as the update presented at the December meeting, clearly indicate that some members of the Employment Workgroup hold an opinion concerning eligibility that I consider nothing less than outrageous. As a first-time offender who was convicted of a first-degree felony, I take great offense to the idea that all first-and-second-degree felons be excluded from any eligibility for the proposed certificate.

While I served 30 years in Ohio prisons for the most serious offense, at no time during that period of incarceration was I scored higher than a "1," on an ascending scale, in terms of risk to the community. For the vast majority of that time, my risk score was zero. I completed my bachelors degree (summa cum laude) while incarcerated. And, while my reentry experience has not been easy, I recently gained employment as a marketer of world-class information technology services. For most of the 32 months since I gained parole, I have worked and volunteered as a provider of reentry support services to others returning to our community from prison.

Without any doubt, steady employment, at a living wage, poses the greatest challenge for most former offenders. The single greatest thing the Employment Workgroup can do to support greater reentry success, reduce recidivism, enhance public safety, promote healthier families and better-balanced state budgets, is to recommend the state legislature pass a certificate proposal that allows all former offenders the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to rehabilitation, and which encourages them in that effort, and rewards them for it.

Require clear and concerted effort, yes, but do not deny mere eligibility for the certificate to any former offender who purposefully demonstrates a sincere commitment to rehabilitation.

Ultimately, the question before the OERC Employment Workgroup is this: will you move to expand opportunities for the successful reentry of the increasing number of former offenders returning to our communities from prison, or will you actually make reentry harder for a significant number of those persons?

Physician, first do no harm.