skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

New “Don’t Ask” Plan Could Help Former Felony Offenders Find Work

play audio
Play

Tuesday, November 6, 2007   

Portland, OR – Starting a new life can be difficult enough after a felony conviction, but Multnomah County is removing at least one barrier. The county is eliminating a question on its job applications: the one that asks if the applicant has ever been convicted of a felony. County officials have decided they agree with those who say the question screens out prospective employees, even before they have the chance to prove their qualifications and rehabilitation success.

Patty Katz, who works with the "Beyond Barriers" program for the Partnership for Safety and Justice, says employers who make it easier for ex-offenders to get jobs also make it easier for them to stay out of prison. And that, she says, ultimately makes communities safer.

"If we can put people to work, they are able to pay their rent, support their children, they become productive members of society. It reduces recidivism by 45 percent -- that's almost half. It cuts down on crime and it makes our communities much safer."

Katz adds it also sets an important precedent for the county to take such an innovative step.

"This would remove a giant barrier and it gives private business permission to do the same thing."

Multnomah County joins a small number of other communities in the nation, including Boston, Chicago and San Francisco, all of which have removed the "prior felony conviction" question from their job applications.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021