It's a start”

Formerly incarcerated adults’ perceptions of second‐chance employers and policies

Bibliographic Data

ID12776296
AuthorsMegan G Denver (Northeastern University, corresponding author), Rod K Brunson (University of Maryland, College Park), Oscar Navarro (0000-0002-4225-1962, Northeastern University)
Year2026
Volume25
Issue1
Pages3-30
Publication date2026-01-09
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCriminology & Public Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1538-6473 • E-ISSN: 1745-9133
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1745-9133.70010
OpenAlexW7119506304
LanguageEN
References cited63

Research Summary Second‐chance hiring, or an employer's commitment to hiring (at least some) people with criminal records, is simultaneously an ongoing public movement and an opaque process. To examine perceptions of second‐chance policies and employers, we analyzed interview data from formerly incarcerated adults in the Greater Boston area. We find that a small portion was familiar with Ban‐the‐Box (BTB), a policy that had been in effect locally for more than a decade; after learning about the policy, participants indicated that it was a promising start but could unintentionally provide false hope if employers conduct criminal background checks soon thereafter. We then asked for definitions of criminal record (or in our study context, “CORI”) friendly employers. Participant descriptions fell into three categories: exclusionary, CORI‐friendly under certain circumstances, and fully inclusive. Descriptions of the sometimes‐friendly employers reflected individualized assessments, where the criminal history and context seemed to matter. Although partial exclusion was not ideal to participants, even the most well‐reputed inclusive jobs—those connected to labor unions—carried cautions from union‐member participants. Finally, we explored whether submitting evidence of rehabilitation is feasible. Most participants indicated they could readily provide a recommendation letter and/or accomplishments to an employer if provided the opportunity—but few reported having this experience. Policy implications Examining the perceptions of job applicants with criminal records can provide insight into both problems and possibilities. Existing counterintuitive empirical findings on BTB may be driven, in part, by job applicants with criminal records not being aware of (and therefore not responding to) policy changes. Even after being informed, skepticism of BTB points to the importance of employer responses throughout the decision process. We recommend four policy pathways: increasing awareness of existing policies, expanding CORI‐friendliness through employer engagement, promoting broader culture change, and incorporating positive credentials into individualized assessments through formalized processes

Context (archaeology · Counterintuitive · Criminal history · Criminal record · Perception · Public policy · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Employment and Welfare Studies · Labor market dynamics and wage inequality