In April, I celebrated the passage of the bipartisan First Step Act at the White House. Since that bill was signed into law, more than 3,000 people have been released from federal prison. This is a good thing.
But what keeps me awake at night is worry over whether society is ready to receive, support, and empower these individuals. I’m not so sure we are.
Our national three-year recidivism rate of 68% affirms that we’ve created a revolving prison door. It costs taxpayers $182 billion annually. Given that joblessness is the top predictor of recidivism, we must change our thinking as it relates to how we think about this population.
Meanwhile, business is grappling with a growing skills gap. A May 2018 study by Korn Ferry Institute predicts the existing talent shortage will reach its worst levels in 2030 when an expected 85.2 million job openings will go unfilled worldwide. Solving this issue requires companies to look beyond traditional talent pools and proactively arm new people with the skills their businesses will need in the future.
Today, there are 2.3 million people in our nation’s prisons and jails who are looking for a second chance. Businesses continue to overlook this population, putting up roadblocks that make it difficult if not impossible for them to find meaningful work once they leave prison. Companies need to remove barriers to success — like the felon box on candidate applications — expand its workforce strategies and invest in this community of talent to help close the skills gap and generate a stronger workforce and thriving country.
It sure seems like a tall order but I have a path forward, thanks to my more than 20 years working for a company that invests in this population.
Televerde is a company born in purpose. While volunteering for Episcopal Prison Ministries, Televerde’s founder saw an opportunity to help women build business skills while serving their sentences. This, he believed, would lead to productive career opportunities upon their release.
The company officially launched in 1994, with a six-person call center running out of an air-conditioned trailer at a minimum-security prison in Arizona. The model was simple: hire, train, educate, and compensate this disempowered community through on-the-job experience.
Since Televerde’s inception, 3,000 women have been through the program, including myself. Its aim is to ensure that women have the right combination of hard and soft skills to succeed in today’s digital marketplace. They are trained in the basics of sales and marketing and certified in sought-after technologies such as Marketo, Salesforce, Eloqua and many more. This level of knowledge increases their employability and provides a clear advantage over others in the hiring process.
These women also learn soft skills — how to close deals, work individually and as part of a team, manage conflict, problem solve, navigate change, communicate with senior executives, and collaborate with clients’ sales and marketing teams. Keep in mind they are also building their professional networks, which will serve them well after release.
The results speak for themselves. Many of the women who have graduated Televerde’s program now hold top sales and marketing positions at some of the most recognizable Fortune 500 companies. Meanwhile, Telverde has generated $8 billion in revenue for clients, $25 million in annual cost savings for taxpayers, and an overall group of alumnae with less than 10% recidivism.
Because these women are paid a fair market hourly wage, they also aren’t a financial burden on their families while incarcerated. They can support themselves and their children, pay off court-imposed restitution fees, and even save money while still in prison. This feeling of financial independence contributes greatly to their rehabilitation and prepares them for a successful transition back into the community.
And this is the precise framework for the Second Step Act, a sequel to First Step. Education, training and on-the-job experience are central to fostering employment and avoiding recidivism. But it works only if government and business make our prison system about rehabilitation and redemption, not just punishment.
The model we’ve been using is based almost solely on correction. We’ve done this because as a country we believe that some people aren’t worth a second chance. We believe that our prisons are reserved for the worst among us. As someone who was once incarcerated, I’m here to tell you, this is not true.
There is talent inside our prisons. Our former CEO Jim Hooker said during his talk at the 2018 TEDx Perryville Correctional event, “To discard someone for the worst mistake they made on the worst day of their lives is a waste of human potential.” He was correct then and now.
Michelle Cirocco is Chief Social Responsibility Officer for Televerde (www.televerde.com), an integrated sales and marketing technology organization based in Phoenix, Arizona.
