By Staff

Maine's Department of Corrections and Department of Labor are partnering to connect employers with former inmates who are reentering the workforce.

The agencies last week held two Helping Inmates Reenter Employment ME seminars, at the Southern Maine Women’s Reentry Center in Windham and then the Maine Correctional Center, on Oct. 9, according to a news release.

"During this record time of low unemployment, employers are searching for skilled workers. Now is the perfect time to showcase the skills that formerly incarcerated Mainers can bring to the workforce,” Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman said in the release. “The H.I.R.E. ME seminar continues to be a great way for employers to hear from other employers about their experiences hiring formerly incarcerated workers, and the benefits that come with it.”

The free seminars provided information about the role MDOC can play in helping employers develop their workforce. About 60 employers attended.

Adding value

The seminars explored the following topics:

• The experiences of companies that work with justice-involved individuals.

• Setting up training programs for individuals who are currently incarcerated.

• Tax credits and incentives for hiring the inmate population.

Seminar attendees also heard from offenders currently studying for careers in Maine industry.

Christine Fox of Nappi Distributors said that people hired on work release at the Southern Maine Women's Reentry Center have added value to her company.

"It's been a tremendous success,” she said in the release.

The Southern Maine Reentry Center is designed to give women the skills and experience they need to successfully live and work after they transition from state correctional facilities into their home communities, according to its website.

The center, which houses up to 64 women, emphasizes reducing the risks of recidivism and increasing positive outcomes. Those outcomes include former inmates who are employed in high-growth careers, reunified with families, using effective parenting skills, maintaining stable housing after release, staying sober, and living healthy lives.

Image Courtesy / Maine Department of Corrections The Southern Maine Women's Reentry Center in Windham.

SMRC works closely with the Maine Department of Labor Career Center to place inmates in jobs where employers have need of good employees. Residents are able to keep these jobs after their release.

Industry partnerships

Last December, the Maine Lobster Dealers’ Association said it would partner with the Maine Department of Corrections in a new program.

Recognizing that workforce hiring challenges would take some creativity to solve, the association’s executive director, Annie Tselikis, and dealers reached out to the Department of Corrections to create a program to hire offenders with the right knowledge and skills for jobs in the lobster industry after they’ve been released from prison. The program, which will result in offenders receiving a Maine Lobster Dealers’ Association certificate, kicked off last December for offenders at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham.

About 1,200 men and women a year are released by the state prison system.