Ohio Public Defender Testifies in Support of House Bill 429

Good afternoon, Chairman Young and Members of the Committee. My name is David Bodiker, and I am the Ohio Public Defender.

I’m here today to offer testimony in support of House Bill 429.

More than 27,700 inmates were released from Ohio prisons last year. About one-third of those former inmates are expected to return to prison within the next three years.

Recidivism is costly. It is costly to the family and community from which that offender is removed. It is costly to the victim of the offender’s crime. And it is costly to the State of Ohio, which spends more than $20,000 a year to incarcerate an inmate.

Numerous studies have found correlation between former inmates’ employment status and recidivism rates. Such studies have found that:

• Crime occurs when an individual experiences financial despair.
• Crimes with inherent economic motives tend to increase during levels of high unemployment.
• The most frequent recidivists commit crimes with economic motives.
• An unemployed ex-offender is three times more likely to return to prison.
• Inmates who secured employment recidivated at a lower rate (27.6 percent) than those who did not secure employment (53.9 percent).
• Job retention can lower the recidivism rates of sex offenders.

In short, a former inmate who is employed is much less likely to recidivate and re-enter the prison system than one who is unemployed.

This is also a public safety issue. The community to which an ex-offender locates after incarceration will be much safer if that ex-offender is made less likely to commit another crime. Anything that helps reduce recidivism inherently makes Ohio’s communities safer.

It makes sense, then, for us to do what we can to enable former inmates to become employed.

A 1996 survey found that only 12 percent of employers would hire an individual with a criminal record. However, that survey also found that employers would be more willing to hire ex-offenders who have participated in education or training programs, and that employers would be more willing to hire if the ex-offender’s past criminal record did not relate to the job.

House Bill 429 addresses these concerns of employers. Under House Bill 429, an ex-offender applying for a professional license or certificate must receive a vocational certificate from the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction or the Department of Youth Services in the occupation for which the certificate or license is sought. House Bill 429 also stipulates that there be no direct relationship between the applicant’s previous offenses and the professional certificate or license sought.

Additionally, House Bill 429 includes the safeguard of giving licensing boards and commissions discretion to deny a license or certificate if that issuance would involve an unreasonable risk to the safety or welfare of individuals or the general public.

By requiring that qualified, non-violent felony offenders be granted professional licenses and certificates in fields not related to their offenses, House Bill 429 opens a new realm of jobs to ex-offenders. The more jobs that are open to ex-offenders, the more likely they are to find employment. The more ex-offenders who are employed, the lower the recidivism rate. The lower the recidivism rate, the lower the cost to the State of Ohio and its communities and families.

Chairman Young, Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today in support of House Bill 429. I would

Click here for a copy of HB 429