I understand what you are saying. However, there is a difference between job applicants who really try to prepare themselves for a job, even those who are ex-felons, and those who show up and hope for the best. Some employers want people who have been released recently for the tax credits, and others are simply willing to give a second chance. Read the article in today’s (4/23) North Escambia.Com edition about Mark Whitacre. He’s not an exception – many inmates released today lead productive lives and are gainfully employed. The key is they prepared while still in prison and did what they could to tip the scales in their favor in the job market.

The Florida Ready to Work program is an extensive program where the guys take a pretest in several areas that they will be expected to be proficient in by most employers today – reading, writing, math and other important areas. The pretest is scored, and if the inmate has any deficiencies, he or she is assigned work to remediate the problem. This credential is not easy to get! Presentation of the creditial to a prospective employer shows that the inmate has demonstrated an acceptable level of proficiency in areas of workforce skills needed for success on the job. We have it at our prison as well, and the men are very active in the program.