For many people leaving a rehabilitation program or finishing serving time for a drug-related crime, finding employment is a top priority. But that job search can often mean facing possible discrimination and disclosing gaps in employment. We’re also seeing employers across Ohio and the country adapt to the changing workforce as more and more people are affected by opioid addiction. In this week’s blog, we explore the opportunities and resources for employment and incentives for employers to hire people recovering from substance use.
National Resources
Many organizations around the country strive to support people with a drug use history (which could include charges or a rehabilitation program) get back into the workforce. These include:
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- America in Recovery: Their online job board matches candidates with companies that want to hire people in recovery.
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- The National Hire Network: They help people with convictions find a job in their community.
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- The Department of Labor One Stop Career Center and the National Skills Coalition can also help place people with local job opportunities.
- Jobs for Felons updates their list of job opportunities by city and state daily.
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- Community Voice Mail gives people a phone number and a voicemail, so they can check messages from the phones of friends and family if they don’t own their own cell phone.
- Rehab Spot provides an overview of the many approaches to addiction rehabilitation.
- Other resources like the Addiction Center can help people in recovery prepare for the transition to employment, such as resume help and practice interviews.
Ohio Resources
The Employment Alliance in Cuyahoga County aims to help people who have had treatment for mental illness and/or substance abuse problems find employment. They help people prepare for the job search, support them throughout the hiring process, advocate for the applicant, and provide coaching to retain the job.
The Ohio Citizens Advocates for Addiction Recovery works to “ensure the rights of individuals in recovery”. They help connect people with organizations and careers across the state of Ohio, fight against discrimination, and advocate for policy to improve opportunities for people in recovery.
Other recovery services that offer employment resources and training include:
- the Catholic Charities of Cleveland
- the Cleveland Treatment Center
- Fresh State VI (Cleveland)
- Scioto Paint Valley MHC – Fayette County Clinic (Washington Court House)
- Southeast Inc. (Delaware)
- Ravenwood Mental Health Center (Chardon)
- IKRON Corporation (Cincinnati)
- Century Health – South Campus (Findlay)
- Scioto Paint Valley MHC – Lynn Goff Clinic (Greenfield)
- Community Outreach Recovery Environment (C.O.R.E.) (Steubenville)
- Beacon Health (Mentor)
- Flying High Inc (Youngstown)
- Meridian HealthCare (Youngstown)
- Marion Area Counseling Center
- Eastway Corporation (Dayton)
- Scioto Paint Valley MHC – Pickaway County Clinic
- Coleman Professional Services (Canton)
- Community Services of Stark County Inc
- Trillium Family Solutions (Massillon)
- Community Support Services Inc (Akron)
- Urban Ounce of Prevention Services – Exodus Program (Akron)
You can access their contact information and find other services near you by searching for your county on our local resources page. If you notice an organization missing from this list, please let us know!
Employer Legislation & Incentives
You may have heard the term “ban the box”: this refers to the checkbox on employment forms that asks applicants about their arrest records. Initiatives and policies to remove this question have been adopted by over 150 cities and counties across the United States. According to the National Employment Law Project, this tactic can help employers “consider a job candidate’s qualifications first—without the stigma of a conviction or arrest record.” Instead, employers wait to run a background check until the applicant is further along in the hiring process.
Ohio adopted these policies on a statewide level in 2015, when the Ohio Department of Administrative Services removed questions about convictions and arrest history from the initial application for state employment. The state also prohibits all public employers, including cities and counties, from including any questions about criminal records on initial applications for employment. A few communities have also enacted their own regulations, including Cincinnati, the City of Cleveland, Dayton, Franklin County, and Canton, which you can view here. While it’s important to note that these initiatives only apply to public employers, more and more states are beginning to enact similar laws that extend to private employers.
There is also the work opportunity tax benefit from the US Department of Labor, which offers businesses a tax benefit when they hire people convicted of a crime within one year of when they are convicted or released from prison.
Next week, we’ll explore a big question: how does addiction work? We’ll look at entry points to substance use and methods people use to stay sober. To follow our new research and research of our local media partners, sign up for our weekly news roundup.
