AUSTIN — For Allison Franklin, the Texas criminal justice system seemed designed to return her to prison rather than prepare her to make it in the free world.

"The only thing I was ever released with was my prison ID, my offender ID," she said. "And you can't apply for a job with that."

A self-described former prostitute, drug-dealer and addict, Franklin has no fewer than nine felonies on her record. But time after time, she said, she would be released from custody only to return to her pimp and restart the cycle that always seemed to return her to prison.

But Franklin, now 43, finally managed to break free from that cycle. And now she is a public policy advocate for the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, a nonpartisan and nonprofit research institute focused on rehabilitation and alternatives to incarceration.

During the 2019 legislative session that ended May 27, the coalition notched several victories on those fronts. One of those was House Bill 918, which takes effect in January and will require the prison system to send released inmates back into the free world with documents that will help them navigate the path to employment.

Qualifying released inmates without access to their birth certificates or Social Security cards will get help obtaining them. They will receive certificates showing any training and job skill courses they've completed.

They'll also learn basic job-interview skills. And they will get a resume with details of their work history in and out of prison.

Franklin, who was among about two dozen people — ranging from criminal justice advocates to business leaders to correctional officer union members — to testify or register support for the measure when it was considered in the House Corrections Committee this spring.

"All the rings of fire that you have to jump through just to get your documentation is ridiculous and it's exhausting," she said. "It was traumatizing to have to go through all of that."

Efforts to smooth the transition from prison back to the civilian world are gaining traction nationwide. Late last year, President Donald Trump signed the First Step Act, which features components to increase in-prison rehabilitation programs and job-training initiatives.

And this spring, the White House said the U.S. Department of Education will launch a $28 million pilot program to help eligible prison inmates pursue college credits.

Marc Levin, who heads the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation's Right on Crime initiative, said the state once known for its "lock 'em up, and keep 'em locked up" approach to lawbreakers has no choice but to change course. Prolonged, punishment-oriented incarceration is a losing proposition for taxpayers, and can actually be a long-term threat to public safety, he said.

His organization was Franklin's ally on most issues during the 2019 legislative session.

"Getting a job is definitely a major piece of the reentry puzzle," Levin said. And knowing how to build a resume, having and keeping a Social Security card and a birth certificate are essential first steps, he added.

Most prisoners in Texas who can work, must work. Exceptions are made for the incorrigibly violent and for inmates on death row. But it's one thing to be able to master the trades that make up inmate labor, and quite another to have them translate to the free-world workplace, Levin said.

"You need interpersonal skills, too," he said. "Even the simple act of looking someone in the eye during a conversation might be difficult for someone who's used to the prison environment."

State Rep. James White, an East Texas Republican who chairs the House Corrections Committee and the author of House Bill 918, credited the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for initiating many of the steps being mandated by the legislation. But he said it's important to codify and expand on those first steps to help bring certainty to the process.

TDCJ, which operates Texas' sprawling prison system, has also launched a website aimed at connecting newly released inmates with employers who are hiring.

“Such employers show that they’re willing to help members of their community by offering them a ‘second chance’ through employment,” said April Zamora, who heads TDCJ's Reentry and Integration Division.

White said he worked closely with the Texas Association of Business, which is akin to a statewide chamber of commerce, on the bill because of a shortage of workers in the manual trades. The Texas unemployment rate stands at record low levels, he said, but the jobless rate for ex-felons is a whopping 27 percent.

He said taking steps to better prepare inmates for work can both alleviate the labor shortage and reduce the rate of recidivism.

Franklin, who is now pursuing a communications degree from the University of Texas, said she was finally able to break the cycle of reverting to her old habits after leaving prison with a few lucky breaks and a lot of determination. She was able to land a job at a Houston restaurant, she said, when the owner took a chance on her.

"It wasn't an 'Aha' moment. It was a process," she said. "It was really people that were kind enough to meet me in my darkness, building healthy relationships with me, show me that I was worthy of that change."

As it turned out, she said, the restaurant job turned out to be a poor fit, "but it allowed me to have something substantial on my resume."

And White said that is the goal of his legislation.

"Probably 95 percent of these folks will return to the community," White said. "Hopefully, when they do return, we can help make sure they do not return to making the wrong decisions that got them into the (criminal justice) system in the first place."

John C. Moritz covers Texas government and politics for the USA Today Network in Austin. Contact him at jmoritz@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @JohnnieMo.

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