Arizona opinion: Training crucial to post-prison success

The era of mass incarceration created consequences for communities across the country, including some which were unintended. If we have a goal to create safer communities, we must address recidivism and how to sustainably create better outcomes for the millions of Americans imprisoned over the past few decades as they reenter society and come home.

Almost 13,000 people are released from Arizona prisons every year, while about 450,000 Arizonans live with a felony record and around 100,000 residents have spent time in a correctional facility. Nationally, more than 650,000 Americans were released from prisons or jails in 2022, totaling more than 10,000 people each week. The numbers make it clear that thousands of people living with a conviction or criminal record face significant barriers upon reentry — whether it’s finding housing, getting an education, or securing stable employment.

What’s also clear is that we can create better outcomes. Helping those returning to our communities can — and needs to — start when an incarcerated individual begins their sentence. According to one study, participating in education, either academic or vocational, while incarcerated reduced the likelihood of going back to prison by 43%. In fact, incarcerated individuals who participated in job training were at least 30% more likely to find a job upon reentry.

Access to education and training while incarcerated can be invaluable to those with a record. They need a solid foundation given the reality that they are 50% less likely to get a job callback or offer. Strikingly, the impact of post-release employment can directly impact health, life expectancy, and quality of life, making it clear that helping incarcerated individuals gain employment is about more than productive capacity; it is literally lifesaving.

Fortunately, the solutions to so many of the challenges fueling recidivism are within reach. In fact, technology, the connectivity and innovation that most of us rely on daily, is a game changer in helping incarcerated individuals prepare for reentry. Simply putting tablets in the hands of those serving time can connect them to education, vocational, inspirational, and coaching tools to help guide them through the rehabilitation process. What’s more: technology also enables consistent connections with friends and family, the very support base that supercharges the odds of success upon release.

Increasing access to quality, secure technology in correctional facilities allows those with a record to unlock their potential after release. Who better to design the solutions to guide individuals through the process than those with the same lived experience?

That’s why Mission: Launch, a nonprofit Teresa founded to improve outcomes for justice-impacted Americans, hosts free hackathons in partnership with businesses like Aventiv Technologies as part of their Bank On 100 Million Hackathon series. These hackathons, including the one this week in Phoenix, are a crucial convening for cross-sector leaders and justice-impacted individuals to come together and create solutions that improve outcomes for Americans living with an arrest or conviction record.

One Hackathon participant, Kim Thomas, has a story that proves communities can benefit from embracing the power of technology to help normalize fair hiring practices and workforce development. Kim spent 30 years in the Arizona Department of Corrections in Perryville and earned her college degree using a tablet while incarcerated. Today, she works locally as an Engagement Coordinator with the Arouet Foundation and mentors women on navigating their reentry.

Hackathons engage stakeholders from all sectors—private, public, and nonprofit—as partners in progress to ensure we’re creating more outcomes like Kim’s. Investing in that progress can help employers locally and nationwide fill open positions. Many don’t realize it, but if every unemployed person looking for work found a job across the country, there would still be more than 5.3 million jobs available.

Despite the clear economic need, nearly two-thirds of formerly incarcerated individuals remain jobless six months post-release as a result of systemic barriers we have the power to change. We’re leaving behind people who can be a significant source of productivity in helping relieve nationwide labor shortages and improving the economic stability of entire communities.

Kim’s success, like others, is a testament to the need for a refreshed look at the justice system that prioritizes reentry. We look forward to joining Kim at the Phoenix Hackathon, where like-minded leaders will come together to prove we’re capable of turning the corner from the era of mass incarceration to one that is more equitable and just for all.