1. NVTAC Virtual Learning Class: Strategies to Succeed in HVRP: Module 7
Cindy Borden
NCHV
Cori Di Biase
Manhattan Strategy Group
Nicole LaCorte-Klein
Atlas Research
Interventions to Improve Employment Outcomes for Justice-Involved Veterans in HVRP

2. Module Objectives: During this VLC Module, we will discuss:
Criminal records and their impacts;
Behaviors, interventions, and impact on job choosing;
Job development process for Justice-Involved job-seekers; and
Strategies for staying employed.
Overview of criminal histories, expungement, behaviors, criminal records, impact of criminal records on job searches

3. Meet Your Instructors Nicole LaCorte-Klein, MA, CRC Cori Di Biase
Training Consultant at Atlas Research, Nicole brings years of experience providing job placement, vocational case management and direct service to individuals who are homeless. Nicole has provided technical assistance to HVRP, SSVF and other Veterans Administration staff for years, offering her experience as both direct service provider and trainer.
Cori Di Biase
NVTAC Project director at the Manhattan Strategy Group, Cori has provided services and consultation to support veterans and civilians in employment for more than twenty years. Cori prides himself on serving the staff and leaders who have dedicated themselves to serving our country.
Cindy Borden
As the Director of Technical Assistance and Training for the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV), Cindy conducts training, develops resources, and provides intensive coaching in program design and implementation to veteran service organizations. Cindy brings more than 20 years experience in both direct service and technical assistance to help organizations increase capacity and improve services.

4. Jen Elder, SOAR TA Center
Course Schedule
Date
Day
Topic
Lead Instructor
Guest Speaker
10/1
Monday
Introduction to HVRP, Partnerships, AJC Enrollment
Cindy
10/3
Wednesday
Job Readiness & Outreach Strategies
Nicole
10/8
Employment Assessment & Job Matching
Cori
10/10
Housing and Supportive Services: Strengthening Community Collaboration/Partnerships
10/15
Job Driven Training, Employer Development & Job Placement, AJC Partnership
Nena Siverd, VOC
10/17
Sub-population services (female veterans, younger veterans, older veterans, families)
10/22
Justice Involved Veterans – ex-offenders, incarcerated veterans, link with VJOs and Reentry Specialists
10/24
Job Retention & Follow Up
10/29
Benefits, work incentives, employment services and supports
Jen Elder, SOAR TA Center
10/31
Avoiding Burnout: Taking care of Yourself

5. People who have been arrested, fingerprinted and a record established.
Justice involved?
People who have been arrested, fingerprinted and a record established.
Following their military experience, some individuals have a difficult time adjusting to civilian life and as a result self medicate with alcohol or drugs and become justice involved.
Justice involved veterans are also often times those veterans who have a mental health and/or co-occurring substance abuse disorder..

6. POLL QUESTION
What has been your experience helping justice involved jobseekers gain employment?
Poll Options to Include:
Minimal…first time working with this population.
Somewhat….have worked with this population but haven’t placed any job seekers as of yet.
Experienced….have worked with and placed this population in competitive positions in the community.
Expert…..have worked with, placed, developed collaborative partnerships with employers hiring this population.

7. Unique Challenges Stigma and Bias Background Checks Gaps in Employment
Higher Rates of PTSD
Legal Restrictions
Difficulties Obtaining Housing
Veteran Challenges in Explaining their Backgrounds During Interviews
A Veterans criminal history should not keep them from getting job or having a place to live…

8. Impact on job choosing Time in prison may inhibit:
Up-to-date knowledge and occupational skills;
awareness of current labor market needs; and
Self-representation skills.
Offenses may be related to preferred job choices.
Old convictions may still impact choices.
Occupational licensing requirements may limit options.

9. Criminal Records
Behavioral Health challenges often result in justice involvement:
Problems surrounding receipt of treatment; and
Prevalence of drug-related arrests and convictions.
2012 study - 30% of Americans have been arrested by age 23.
Potential Impacts of a criminal record:
Voting
Firearms
Credit
Child Custody/Adoption
Housing
Employment
Government Benefits

10. Diminishing Population
Veterans were overrepresented in our justice system, but this is changing.

11. Chat (1)
Chat
Type your answer in the Public Question box and press Enter to send
Or, raise your hand to come off mute.
In your experience, what percent of HVRP participants in your program are or were involved in the criminal justice system?
Poll Answers:
0-20%
20-40%
40-50%
50-75%
75-100%

12. Online job applications are increasingly the job application of choice for employers.

13. Incomplete Information Multiple Entries Inaccuracies
Cleaning Up a RAP Sheet
Sealed Information
Incomplete Information
Multiple Entries
Inaccuracies

14. The Truth Will Prevail… Know the Barriers
Know your job seeker’s criminal record & correct errors
Help them get RAP Sheet - costs can vary in States; State/National - $25/$8 non-profit
Help them get Credit Report from 3 national companies - free
reports

15. Chat (2)
Chat
Type your answer in the Public Question box and press Enter to send
Or, raise your hand to come off mute.
What do your justice involved veterans say are their 2 biggest problems to getting a job?

16. WORKING WITH VETERANS WITH A CRIMINAL HISTORY
Outreach
Veteran Justice Outreach Specialists
Explanation of Criminal History
Placement in Employment
Balance of Working and Justice System Commitments

17. Outreach
Municipal and County Veterans Courts
Parole/Probation Offices
Halfway Houses
In Reach to Prisons and Jails

18. Veteran Justice Outreach (VJO) Specialists
VJO Specialists reach in to the criminal justice system to ensure that eligible justice-involved Veterans have timely access to Veterans Health Administration (VHA) mental health and substance abuse services when clinically indicated, and other VA services and benefits as appropriate.
Connect with your local VJO.

19. Teach the Justice Involved Jobseeker To…
Introduce themselves to employers.
Be upfront and honest.
Express desire for the job.
Take responsibility for his/her actions.
Describe how s/he has changed.
Summarize the key points of the job and thank the employer.

20. Explanation of History
Veteran needs to know how to convey their conviction
Tell the truth about the conviction
Matter of Fact
Be humble
Take ownership of the conviction
When explaining the conviction look at the person interviewing them
Talk about who they were then and who they are now
Employers understand that people make mistakes and can change
The only difference between the veteran and the person interviewing them is the person interviewing them never got caught for the things they have done in their past

21. Coach Jobseekers To… Look interviewer in the eye.
Describe work skills, assets, experience.
Explain “who I am now” & bring documentation:
Rehabilitation/Treatment;
Education/Training (in or out of jail/prison);
Community and voluntary service; and/or
Church involvement and support.
Bring bonding and Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) info & completed forms.
WOTC information will be discussed in greater detail later on in the presentation

22. Placements
Do not place justice-involved veteran in a job that is Monday-Friday 8AM to 5PM, without flexibility for appointments:
The justice system is not flexible and does not have weekend hours in most states for meeting times or testing.
Employer must be aware of veterans situation
Most probation/parole officers will show up at the veterans job site
There are some legal protections for applicants with criminal records at the federal law. For example, when employers have a third party run background checks, they MUST obtain the job seekers written consent.

23. What is your response to that employer?
What are 2 things employers say they are concerned about in hiring a justice involved veteran?
Thanks for coming in but… and 2. .
discuss
Raise your hand to come off mute.
What is your response to that employer?

24. “It’s not just about developing a felon friendly employer list”
- list-of-companies-that-hire.html

25. Working aND Commitment to the Justice System
JUSTICE SYTEM COMMITMENTS
Reliable
Meetings/Court Dates
Dependable
Drug/Alcohol Monitoring
On Time
Quality Worker
Mandatory Classes
Present
Financial Obligations

26. Employers frequently ask on Applications: Have you ever been convicted of a felony?
States that have passed laws to remove conviction history question on job applications: ban-the-box-fair-chance-hiring- state-and-local-guide/
To find out what states do not require criminal background checks for employment…this law prohibits employers with 15 or more employees from advertising in a job posting that applicants with a criminal history will not be considered for OR asking job applicants about their criminal histories during the initial job application process including on an employment application. This information can be asked of an employer ONLY after it has conducted an interview of the applicant. However the law does provide some exceptions e g. if the position is in law enforcement or if a criminal background check for that position is required by law (homeland security position for TSA). 11 states that removed this question from job applications for BOTH public and private sector employers and there are 20 states that have ban the box laws that apply ONLY to public employers.

27. Bonds4jobs.com Call Toll Free 1-877-872-5627
Provides bonds to employers, protecting them from employee dishonesty including theft, embezzlement, larceny. Employers receive FBP bonds free of charge as an incentive to hire justice involved veterans….5K dollar limit covering the first 6 months of the individuals employment. Bonds can be applied to ANY JOB, in ANY STATE and full or part time work including temp work
Bonds4jobs.com is this website
Call Toll Free

28. Federal Bonding Program
Funded by the US Dept of Labor
Program information
State coordinators
Bond gives employers incentive to hire “at risk” individuals

29. Chat (3)
Chat
Type your answer in the Public Question box and press Enter to send
Or, raise your hand to come off mute.
Have you ever helped a veteran use the Federal Bonding Program? IF SO, WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE LIKE?

30. Comments about the FBP from the Field
“Catch 22” situation
I don’t know how much time it takes to get a bond
The bond is the employers’ responsibility, not HVRPs
I think there is too much paperwork and employers won’t do it
Employers just rather hire someone for whom a bond is not needed

31. Employer Candidates… Bond May be Most Useful
Larger companies
Limited customer contact
Middle-skills jobs including office occupations
Jobs with higher wages

32. Job Seeker Candidates
Violent crime (crimes against persons)
Longer criminal records
Limited education
Limited work history/experience
Minority status

33. Work Opportunity Tax Credit
Tax Credits
Work Opportunity Tax Credit
$2,400 for each adult hire from a target group
Ex-felon hired w/in 1 year of conviction or release from prison

34. https://justiceforvets.org/
Resources
VA Programs:

35. References
Giguere, R. and Dundes, L. (2002). Help Wanted: A Survey of Employer Concerns About Hiring Ex-Convicts. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 13:4,
Harris, P.M. and Keller, K.S. (2005). Ex-Offenders Need Not Apply - The Criminal Background Check in Hiring Decisions. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 21:1, February, 6-30.
Albright, Shelley. (1996). Employer Attitudes Toward Hiring Ex-Offenders. The Prison Journal, June, 76:2,
Gebo, Erika and Norton-Hawk, Maureen (2009). Criminal Record Policies and Private Employers. Justice Policy Journal, 6:1.

36. The Need Is Still There
Even though there are fewer veterans in our justice system, there are many veterans who need our help.
Bureau of Justice Statistics: in , approximately 181,500 veterans were serving time in correctional facilities.
The legacy of high incarceration still ripples through our system.

37. Questions and Comments
Concerns?
Common misconceptions?
Looking ahead.

38. CONTACT INFORMATION
Cori Di Biase: Dallas Region
Manhattan Strategy Group
Cindy Borden: San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Atlanta Regions
NCHV
Nicole LaCorte-Klein: Boston and Chicago Regions
Atlas Research