You're 'HIRE'-d

I’d like to think that if I met Governor Mike Pence at some sort of function, I would be able to restrain myself from being uncouth: name-calling, tantrum-throwing, that kind of thing. I used to imagine having to remove myself from the situation before any neck veins burst and paramedics are called.

I feel this way due to our obviously divergent political ideas.

But finally, I discovered some common ground between ol’ Mike and me, and that ground is called “HIRE.”

I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t know what HIRE was until this past week when it celebrated its first birthday. For those similarly unacquainted, HIRE stands for “Hoosier Initiative for Re-Entry.”

It is a program that helps those released from prison readjust to life on the outside by aiding their search for steady employment and stability.

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development works with the Department of Corrections to select a group of inmates who will be trained in “soft skills, workplace attitude and motivation” prior to release.

Following release, the DWD meets with initiative participants regularly to check in and help with any problems.

The program has been in place for about a year, and so far 618 people have been placed successfully. 

Specifically, of those who are working the same job, 86 percent are making an
average of $10.31 an hour. 

That’s about $3 more than Indiana’s minimum wage.

Evidence shows that former inmates who are unable to find employment upon their release have almost double the recidivism rate (that is, the rate of people who return to incarceration) of those who are employed.
 
HIRE’s continued success will foster a safer Indiana, and a richer one.

Fewer recidivists means fewer arrests, fewer prosecutions and fewer incarcerations, all of which save our state money. While HIRE costs the state $644,000, it purportedly saved $8 million this year.

That’s $8 million we can funnel towards other things, like — fingers crossed — our education system.

Though Pence was not in office when this legislation was passed, he voiced full support for the legislation.

“We are proud of the HIRE program’s efforts to help ex-offenders become self-sustaining, responsible adults with the financial means to take care of themselves and their families,” he said. “And we applaud the companies that have helped ex-offenders get that second chance.”

Can I get in on that applause action, too?

I’m glad that a program like this exists in Indiana. Too often, prisoners are written off as hopeless or inherently bad. These results show that many former convicts were driven to crime not by evil but by need.
 
If we address need, we can stem crime. Crazy, I know.

The only real qualm I have with HIRE is that it isn’t a bigger initiative.

More than 20,000 people are released from prison in Indiana each year, but we have only managed to help 618 of them find jobs.

Maximum security and gang-affiliated individuals will not be considered for the program. Why shouldn’t all inmates facing release be subject to this process?
 
Prison socializes you for an environment entirely outside of mainstream society. The transition in and out isn’t easy, especially when so many inmates are treated like numbers rather than individuals.

The people being released have spent years of their lives getting used to life in an institution. Our state can afford to help them transition back into life on the outside.
Of course, it would be easier if prisoners were never dehumanized in the first place.

­— casefarr@indiana.edu