Articles & News

April 10, 2008

Joines urges city to hire more of those leaving prison or jail
Employed are less likely to return, he says

By Blair Goldstein, JOURNAL REPORTER

Mayor Allen Joines has encouraged area business owners to hire people who have been released from prison.

Now, he is calling on the city of Winston-Salem to do the same.

City staff members are drafting a formal policy that would encourage the city to hire people coming out of jail or prison, and they plan to present it to the Winston-Salem City Council for a vote in June.

“I’ve asked local employers to consider hiring individuals being released from prisons and felt like it was appropriate that the city take a look at our hiring practices as well,” Joines said. “If we aren’t able to get these individuals back into productive employment, there is a reasonable opportunity for them to revert back to criminal activity.”

Currently, the city does a five-year background check for all applicants. Any past convictions are then reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Assistant City Manager Martha Wheelock said that the most common hiring problems arise when people convicted of traffic violations apply for city jobs that require driving.

The new policy has not been drafted. But Wheelock said that it is likely to call for a partnership with local re-entry organizations. She said that the city could increase the number of convicted felons it hires by finding jobs that could be a good match for people with criminal backgrounds.

“The standards for someone handling money might be different than someone on a laborer crew,” she said.

Rebecca Sauter, the director of Project Re-entry in Winston-Salem, said she would welcome a partnership with the city.

Project Re-entry, an affiliate of the Northwest Piedmont Council of Governments, works with people before and after they are released from prison to sharpen their interview skills and teach them how to fill out applications.

Sauter said that the organization helped 136 people with felony convictions find jobs last year, almost exclusively in Forsyth County. She said that her organization did not work to pair any of them with city jobs.

“They are asking to be considered equally,” Sauter said of people coming out of prison, “not to be considered more because they are ex-offenders but not to be considered less, either.”

The city is also examining its zero-tolerance drug policy.

Wheelock said that all applicants must take a drug test before starting work. If anyone tests positive for drugs, they will not be hired.

Some employees, such as firefighters and people operating heavy equipment, are also required to take a random drug test. Wheelock said the city will also ask an employee to take a drug test if there is reason to believe that the employee has used drugs. If an employee fails that drug test, they are fired and cannot be rehired by the city.

The city has surveyed six other cities in North Carolina - from Greensboro to Raleigh - to see how drug testing was handled. Wheelock said that all six cities will rehire an employee who fails a drug test after a number of years has passed.

Council Member Vivian Burke said she is pleased that the city is reviewing its hiring practices. She said that if people cannot find jobs, they often end up back in prison.

“In America we have never penalized people for life,” Burke said. “We have always given them an opportunity.”

But Council Member Robert Clark said that the city needs to be thoughtful about any policy changes. He said he supports efforts to find jobs for convicted felons, but also recognizes that there are not enough jobs for people without criminal records.

“It’s a tough call,” he said. “Do you give a job to someone who has been to prison or someone who hasn’t?”

Blair Goldstein can be reached at 727-7284 or at bgoldstein@wsjournal.com.