Second Chance Hiring

Mitch Pearlstein's book is an important addition to the body of work focusing on 'second chance hiring', the intentional hiring of people with criminal records including those exiting incarceration. Pearlstein writes personally and with passion, but doesn't neglect that such hiring must rest on economics that work for employers. His book is wide-ranging, but eminently readable, covering the 'nuts and bolts' success of a remarkable nonprofit, The Redemption Project, as well as policy, economics, and ethics. -- Jeffrey Korzenik, Chief Economist and author of Untapped Talent Mitch Pearlstein supports his humane approach for why second chance hiring matters with science and social theory, while not dodging shortcomings within the USA criminal justice system. One of his strengths is weaving together street-level credibility stories told by big city leaders of re-entry programs with suite-level accountability measures from CEOs with real-world experience in hiring adults with a criminal record. By doing so, Pearlstein clears the fog of pessimism that too often blurs our vison, or chokes our courage, to take on the tough but necessary task of employing people after incarceration. -- Gerard Robinson, Professor of Practice in Public Policy and Law, University of Virginia, USA; co-editor of Education for Liberation: The Politics of Promise and Reform Inside and Beyond America's Prisons