Last month, the Council for Court Excellence published sobering statistics in its report, “Unlocking Employment Opportunity for Previously Incarcerated Persons in the District of Columbia.” The council found that the unemployment rate for ex-offenders in Washington, D.C., is as high as 46 percent. According to the report, 8,000 individuals were released from prison or jail into the District last year, and it is anticipated that about 4,000 of these individuals will re-offend, finding themselves back behind bars in the next three years.

The implications of these findings are grim. Yet, research consistently supports a positive relationship between employment and a reduction in recidivism.