Incarceration Case Study

INTRODUCTION
Criminal history and job opportunity is a major concern for a number of businesses, schools, and organization due to a growing number of inmates being released from prison, and entering into the labor market (Pager, 2006). According to the Bureau of Justice (2015), a total of 646,881 inmates were released from prison throughout the United States. These inmates will be required to seek employment. Studies demonstrate that employers are reluctant to hire someone with a criminal record, if given the opportunity to hire someone without a criminal record (Holzer, Raphael, & Stoll, 2009). Some jobs and activities will not hire someone with a criminal record and are prohibited by law for any participation of individuals with certain
Businesses, schools, and organizations are concerned about the number of inmates being released from prison and how it will affect the labor market (Pager, 2003). There has been little research that focuses on the penalty of criminal sanctions that suggest contact with the criminal justice system can lead to a reduction in employment opportunities (Pager, 2003). Research has been helpful in revealing the possible total affects of incarceration on the labor market outcomes (Pettit & Western, 2001). Emeka (2009) questions to what degree incarceration can cause for employment opportunities and finds that survey research is poorly equipped to offer a definitive
Researchers used the longitudinal survey data to study the employment probabilities and income of individuals after release from prison and have found a strong and consistent negative effect of incarceration (Western & Beckett, 2007). The 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) used a sample of 12,686 young men and women to do a detailed study of the experience each group encountered with employment after incarceration (Graffam, 2008). This research will study the relationship between incarceration and employment outcomes, with a direct link between the two. This paper seeks to better understand the effect of employers’ use of criminal background checks on hiring ex-offenders. Previous research on this and related questions has not directly addressed the question of what effect such use of criminal background checks has on hiring ex-offenders. Some, using employer-based surveys, examine employer willingness to hire ex-offenders and the characteristics of firms that run background checks, how and when these checks are done and whether they have increased over time (Holzer, Raphael and Stoll, 2004;