Ex-Cons Could Get 'Second Chance' At Careers Under Mahwah-Elect's Bill

MAHWAH, NJ — A Mahwah-elected senator's proposed bill providing job opportunities for former inmates is advancing through the New Jersey Legislature.

Sen. Holly Schepisi's sponsored legislation establishing a state Second Chance Program to provide career pathways for formerly incarcerated people was approved 5-0 last week by the Senate Labor Committee, and was referred to a second Senate committee.

"(The program) will serve as a vehicle to deliver purpose and honest work to individuals who may otherwise struggle to find opportunities after leaving prison," Schepisi (NJ-39) said. "...this program will provide a second chance to individuals who have served their time to succeed.”

Studies from the federal Justice Department have highlighted the difficulties that ex-offenders have with finding and maintaining jobs after leaving prison, Schepisi and co-sponsor District 25 Sen. Anthony Bucco said in a release.

According to a 2021 report from the department's Bureau of Justice Statistics, only about 67% of people released from federal prison in 2010 had obtained formal employment over the next four years.

Schepisi's and Bucco's legislation, the Republican senators said, would establish the Second Chance Program within the state Labor Department, with the goal of providing post-prison jobs and reducing recidivism (relapse into criminal behavior).

"Employment opportunities," the proposed bill says, "are necessary to curtail the rate of recidivism and to reincorporate recently incarcerated individuals back into civil society."

In effect, the legislation would move the State Employment Commission to work with labor organizations (defined as engaged in industry-affecting commerce) to address "the lack of viable (career) opportunities in New Jersey" for ex-prisoners, the bill said.

Given their "unique understanding of their community's economic conditions," labor organizations "are in the best position to propose a plan for attracting employment opportunities into their respective trades," the bill continued.

The types of jobs that will be offered are not clarified in the bill.

"It can be extremely difficult for people to find the jobs they need to become self-supporting after... being released from prison," Sen. Bucco said. "We know that... a criminal record and a lack of job training results in significant barriers to employment for former prisoners, which increases the likelihood that someone will become a repeat offender."

"(Second Chance) will address this unfortunate reality by connecting formerly incarcerated individuals with employment opportunities to help them become contributing members to society," Bucco added.