Press Release
Highlights From the Fourth Annual Second Chance Forum
by Second Chance Business Coalition
Cross-Sector Leaders Highlight How Second Chance Employment Is Delivering Results for People, Businesses and Communities
Washington, DC — More than 200 employers, academics, policymakers, community leaders and individuals with lived experience gathered on April 9 at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business for the fourth annual Second Chance Forum, Barriers to Breakthroughs: How Second Chances Are Driving Success.
Co-hosted by the Second Chance Business Coalition (SCBC), in partnership with Business Roundtable, Georgetown University Pivot Program, JPMorganChase, Justice & Upward Mobility Project (JUMP), Resilience Education, SHRM and Stand Together, the Forum focused on the measurable impact of second chance employment on people, companies and communities. Held during Second Chance Month, the event also marked the SCBC’s five-year anniversary.
During the Forum, the SCBC announced its 55th member, Jordan Brand at Nike, and named Larry Miller, Chairman of the Jordan Brand and Founder of JUMP, as the Coalition’s new co-chair, alongside JPMorganChase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon.
“By opening doors to the one in three Americans with a record, we’re helping talented people support their families, contribute to their communities and drive economic growth. ... Let’s encourage more employers to join us in getting talent off the sidelines and into in-demand jobs critical to our nation’s success,” said Dimon during virtual remarks at the event.
Miller echoed this call to action during a panel discussion on the power of storytelling to advance second chances:
“In this world, talent is distributed equally, but opportunity is not. That’s absolutely a true statement. Some of the most intelligent, creative people I’ve ever met are people I met while I was incarcerated; that is a workforce that we need to figure out how to tap into and how to take advantage of.”
Throughout the day, business leaders reinforced second chance employment as a practical, data‑driven workforce strategy, particularly at a time of persistent labor shortages.
Robin Leopold, Head of Human Resources, JPMorganChase“In 2018, JPMorganChase decided to ban the box. ... That change allowed us to focus on the work at hand, the great talent that we were hiring…. Seven years later, [we] have hired consistently 10% — so 23,000 people at our company have low-level records.... They add to our culture, and they add to the communities.”
Julie Benadum, Chair, Randstad US Foundation; Executive Vice President, Randstad USA“Companies today are challenged to find talent, yet there’s a huge disconnect with conventional hiring methods that quickly filter out qualified, motivated talent. At Randstad, we’re helping to drive a shift in how employers assess job seekers, focusing on a person’s current abilities rather than past missteps. Unlocking this hidden talent pool ensures employers don’t miss out on the talent ready and able to help them grow.”Joe Fuller, Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School“If you hire [individuals] early in their post-release process, ... they are 70% less likely to turn over than someone [without a record]. And the rapidity of closing the job to that qualified candidate is 30% higher.”
Employers also recognized the importance of strong community partnerships, and the SCBC announced its new Local Ecosystems Guide, which showcases seven local ecosystems already doing the work to convene community partners.
Ashley Seigneurie, Recruiting Manager, US LBM“US LBM has been doing [second chance hiring] since its inception. We just weren’t talking about it. ... [In Phoenix,] we had a market president that was super supportive of it, and then we also had someone who was impacted.... Support from [executive leadership trickles down to] the local level and the local markets … [and then] up into national markets ... and the 400 plus locations we have outside of Phoenix.”
Employers and business leaders highlighted the power of breaking down barriers at all stages of the employment lifecycle, from job descriptions and background screening to employee retention and advancement.
Employers also explored the intersection of second chances and other workforce programs, such as apprenticeships, to open doors to in-demand careers like the skilled trades.Marvin Figaro, Director, DEI Strategic Partnerships, Kelly Services“I spend a lot of time with clients really investigating their process.... Common things that we often think about are things like drug screens.... [and] degree requirements for roles that don’t need them. We started our own process internally [before we went external] ... and [found] a large percentage of those roles that we were requiring degrees did not need them to be successful. And all it took was just asking the question.”Matt Lutcavage, Chief People Officer, Total Wine & More“In the last four years, we’ve had [the] opportunity to hire over 700 people that are second chance. ... The retention rate we found is as good … [as] the actual employment pool. And 16% of those individuals we’ve hired have actually been promoted and evolved within our organization.”Marc Howard, Professor of Government and Law and Founding Director of the Prisons and Justice Initiative, Georgetown University“Goodwill might open the door, but it’s not going to get people through to employment. ... To really break down those walls means changing HR policies.... We need to go deeper. We need to look at people who have caused harm but nonetheless have changed. ... That is, I think, the challenge.”
Betsy Conway, Executive Director, Lowe’s Foundation“Through our Lowe’s Foundation, we’re focused on supporting community-based [organizations] that are focused on recruiting, training and placing individuals into careers in the skilled trades. ... Their training populations [are] second chance populations, women, individuals that may have never picked up a tool before. And so you want to ensure that when that person comes out, that they are getting placed with an employer whose culture is going to be welcoming, inclusive [and] aligned.”
Public officials discussed how public policy can reduce structural barriers to employment, support reentry and strengthen public safety.
MK Pritzker, First Lady of Illinois“People talk a good game. They always say, ‘People need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.’ Well, how do you do that if you don’t even have boots.... I think people pay their debt to society, and they deserve to have a clean slate and start over. We need to invest in people and believe in people.”Joshua Smith, Deputy Director, Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Department of Justice“When people are given a fair shot, they rise to the occasion. Recidivism goes down, families stabilize, communities grow stronger and businesses gain dedicated, hardworking employees. ... Second chance policies are not about lowering standards. They’re about expanding opportunity and strengthening our economy for everyone.”Dave Sunday, Attorney General of Pennsylvania“The data is overwhelming that when people become employed after they leave prison, the odds of them committing additional crimes go down drastically. … If you care about your community being safe, this is super important. ... You’re [also] impacting the bottom line of your company by hiring people that are more likely to stay employed.”Kathy Jennings, Attorney General of Delaware“If we’re not getting at the root causes, if we’re not giving people who deserve a chance after they’ve been held accountable to get into the workforce, to take care of their families and to lead happy and productive lives, then we haven’t done our jobs. One of our top priorities was second chances. We have reduced recidivism [in Delaware] by 60%, and the jail population is down ... by 30%. … Those are the metrics I think spell success.”
As the Forum concluded, speakers reflected on the importance of challenging stereotypes and shifting the narrative around second chances.
Mannone Butler, Head of Programs & Partnerships, National Basketball Social Justice Coalition“We’ve had conversations across the NBA complex around what [1 in 3 Americans with a record] means and are bringing in subject-matter experts because this is also about education. It’s about making it proximate, real and for us to continuously get smarter. That’s one of the jobs we take very seriously.”
The SCBC encourages employers interested in implementing or strengthening second chance employment practices to explore its resources and tools, including the Business Case for Second Chance Employment.
Learn more about and watch the Forum here.