Economic Mobility
Our reentry work aims to help communities create access to economic opportunities for people who have criminal records.
Creating upward mobility for people who have criminal records has manifested into three key areas of work for the CSG Justice Center:
- Ensuring untapped workers have the skills and resources to meet the needs of businesses;
- Dismantling unnecessary policy barriers to employment and education opportunities;
- Cultivating understanding and action among business executives and hiring professionals.
Momentum on these issues is growing as interest in criminal justice reform enjoys strong bipartisan support. With the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s release of guidance on the consideration of criminal records in hiring decisions; the proliferation of local hiring initiatives, such as Ban the Box; and the growing need for qualified candidates in the workforce; policymakers and employers are increasingly aware of this issue.
Economic Mobility News
November 10, 2021
As states struggle with labor shortages, the Fair Chance Licensing Project provides…
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October 5, 2021
Oregon state leaders launched a new initiative in late August to improve…
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April 26, 2021
COVID-19 has left state and federal policymakers with painfully long to-do lists.…
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March 16, 2021
A first-of-its-kind analysis from the CSG Justice Center examines education- and employment-related…
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February 2, 2021
A new report from the CSG Justice Center highlights the nearly 30,000…
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December 23, 2020
State and local justice systems faced unprecedented challenges in 2020. We look…
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October 26, 2020
Few receive training in Kansas prisons. Thaddeus Watts is one of the…
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June 15, 2020
Federal officials on Friday agreed to ease restrictions that blocked some people…
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It costs us close to $30,000 a year in taxpayer money to keep each person incarcerated. So, we get a whole lot better bang for our buck by investing in workforce training programs ... so that these people can be successful when they reenter society.
Laura Kelly
Governor, Kansas
Key Staff
Former Deputy Division Director, Corrections and Reentry
Le’Ann
Duran
led
the
CSG
Justice
Center’s
efforts
to
design
and
implement
strategies
to
support
economic
opportunity
and
prosperity
for
people
with
criminal
records.
She
spent
the
past
two
decades
working
with
nonprofits
and
government
agencies
to
design
and
implement
...
research-informed
policies
and
practices
to
address
crime
and
incarceration.
Previously,
Le’Ann
directed
the
National
Reentry
Resource
Center
and
served
as
the
administrator
of
the
Office
of
Offender
Reentry
for
the
Michigan
Department
of
Corrections,
where
she
managed
the
state’s
Prisoner
Reentry
Initiative.
Le’Ann
also
served
as
the
executive
director
of
the
Center
for
Employment
Opportunities.
She
received
her
BS
from
Texas
Tech
University
and
her
MS
from
Colorado
State
University.
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Deputy Program Director, Corrections and Reentry
Josh
Gaines
focuses
on
issues
involving
the
collateral
consequences
of
criminal
conviction,
barriers
to
work,
and
relief
from
the
long-term
impacts
of
a
criminal
record.
Through
the
Reentry
2030
initiative,
he
provides
direct
technical
assistance
to
state
leaders
and
other
...
stakeholders
working
to
safely
expand
opportunities
for
workers
with
criminal
histories.
Josh
received
his
BA
from
North
Carolina
State
University
and
his
JD
from
the
Washington
College
of
Law
at
American
University.
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