Career Prospects for People with Criminal Records: How Do People Stop Committing Crimes?

Can criminal justice reform help people with a record get and keep a job, or better yet, a career?

In this Events @ RAND podcast based on the Career Prospects for People with Criminal Records Symposium held at RAND in 2019, senior policy researcher Shawn D. Bushway says that a better understanding of desistance—how and when people with criminal records stop offending—may be the key. Economist Priscillia Hunt moderates.

This is part one in a four-part series. Part two is available here, part three is available here, and part four is available here.

Featured Speaker

Shawn Bushway

Shawn D. Bushway, Ph.D.

Senior Policy Researcher
RAND Corporation

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  • Certification, Background Checks, and Stigma

    Jul 15, 2020

    In this Events @ RAND podcast based on the Career Prospects for People with Criminal Records Symposium held at RAND in 2019, Peter Leasure, Michael Vuolo, and Naomi F. Sugie present evidence from employer and job-seeker studies on Ban-the-Box, Certificates of Relief, and background checks.

  • Practitioners’ Views on Barriers and Opportunities

    Jul 22, 2020

    In this Events @ RAND podcast based on the Career Prospects for People with Criminal Records Symposium held at RAND in 2019, Joshua Miller, Toney L. Earl Jr., Tony Lewis Jr., and Andrew Morton discuss strategies for overcoming barriers and improving employment outcomes through reentry, community supervision, and employer-driven programs.

  • From the Community Corrections Lens

    Jul 29, 2020

    In this Events @ RAND podcast based on the Career Prospects for People with Criminal Records Symposium held at RAND in 2019, Veronica Cunningham and Nicole Jarrett offer their perspectives on the next steps that policymakers, practitioners, and employers can take to equalize employment opportunities for individuals with criminal records. RAND's Dionne Barnes-Proby hosts.

  • A woman and two men in hard hats on a construction site

    Bridge to Opportunities: Connecting Probationers to High-Wage Jobs

    May 25, 2018

    Dionne Barnes-Proby , Priscillia Hunt, et al.

    Probation agencies face significant challenges to helping their clients find jobs, and earn living wages. One program focused on the construction industry aimed to improve the earning potential of individuals on probation in Sacramento County, California.