Jail’s Job Fair Raises Hopes for Inmates

Dennis Stratton is looking for a few good men and he thinks he may have found them Wednesday at--of all places--a jail.

Busily interviewing prospective employees for a group of painting and roofing companies he represents, Stratton and other companies were screening potential candidates Wednesday at a job fair at the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic.

About three-dozen inmates enrolled in vocational training classes at Pitchess tested their interview skills and learned more about jobs that may be available once they complete their jail terms. Stratton said he was impressed with the pool of candidates, noting that many of them have appropriate backgrounds.

“There are a lot of well-trained, experienced people here,” he said. “There is a good fit for everyone I’ve interviewed so far at one of these companies. I guarantee that a few businesses will be following up with some of these guys.”

The job fair is a joint project of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District. The district pioneered vocational education programs in jails nearly 30 years ago.

Sheriff’s officials selected inmates who were nearing the end of their sentences and groomed them for Wednesday’s interviews. The inmates watched instructional videos, prepared their resumes and polished their personalities.

The room where the interviews took place was abuzz with optimism by employers and inmates. Instead of introducing themselves to a group of stylishly dressed applicants, employers talked to young men wearing lime-colored jumpsuits and sandals.

One of those interested was 20-year-old Clifton Jones, who is serving three months for cocaine possession. Jones said he hopes it’s the first and last time he will have to attend a job fair in jail.

Although he believes his job at a print company will be waiting for him when he is released, he said the event provided good training.

“The more practice you have, the better chance you will have in the employment field,” he said. “This is one of the best things to happen in the jail system. Inmates are given a chance to do something positive so they don’t end up back here.”

Organizers are betting on that notion. Many of the Pitchess inmates serve short jail terms with an average stay of 41 days. Realizing that inmates will return to society soon, the county created vocational classes at the jail. More than 12,000 inmates have taken computer, painting and printing classes and 175 were placed in the job sector last year, said Don Carmack, the director of the jail’s Correctional Education Division.

“If people come back to the community the same way they left it, it will be a perpetual cycle,” Carmack said. “One of the most disheartening things to see is someone who took classes in jail but landed right back behind bars.”

The job fair was first held last year, but only two inmates were called back by businesses, Carmack said, and neither was hired.

With a nationwide record low unemployment rate, most newly released inmates are still able to find employment, said Terry Thornton, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections.

The Department of Corrections operates three job placement programs, the oldest of which had an 83% success rate last year, Thornton said.

“There will always be a challenge for ex-offenders to find jobs,” she said. “But we are seeing that more people on parole are obtaining jobs because of the stronger economy.”

The number of convicted felons returning to jail has also dropped. About 70% of inmates were convicted of another crime and returned to jail during the late 1980s, according to Department of Corrections statistics. Last year, that number dropped to 55%, the department reports.

While encouraged, officials recognize that job placement programs will succeed only if interested inmates are motivated.

“It’s a steppingstone on the right path,” said 18-year-old Carlos Calderon, who has served three months of a one-year sentence for strong-armed robbery. “If you are messing up in jail, how are you going to make it in the real world? These programs are giving us the experience we need.”