Phoenix Employers: Second Chance Hiring Is a Workforce Strategy, Not Charity
· Sanctuary Community Initiative · 2 min read
If you run or hire for a business in the Phoenix area, this post is a straightforward pitch: second chance hiring is one of the smartest workforce moves available to you right now, and Arizona's policy environment is actively pushing the door open.
The Arizona tailwind
Governor Hobbs's Reentry 2030 executive order commits Arizona to concrete goals, including a 20% increase in people employed one year after release and a 30% increase in those leaving prison with an industry-recognized credential or apprenticeship. The state is embedding Arizona@Work employment specialists at reentry offices and running vocational case management pilots in Maricopa County. Translation: the pipeline of job-ready, supported candidates is growing on purpose, and early-moving employers get first access.
The business case
This isn't charity framing anymore; the U.S. Chamber of Commerce publishes the numbers:
- Retention. Companies that hire people with records report strong loyalty and lower turnover. In a tight Phoenix labor market, retention is money.
- A large, motivated pool. Nationally, 93% of working-age formerly incarcerated people are working or actively seeking work, higher labor-force participation than the general population. The barrier was never willingness.
- Tax incentives. The federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) offers a credit for hiring people with felony convictions within a year of conviction or release, and some hires qualify for free federal bonding.
- Culture. Two-thirds of employees say they're proud to work for a company that helps people with records reintegrate.
How to start
- Audit which roles actually require record restrictions. Most don't.
- Move background checks later in the process: meet the candidate first.
- Assess records in context: recency, relevance, and evidence of change like treatment completion and case-manager references.
- Partner with the reentry community. Candidates who come with a support network (housing, transportation, mentorship already in place) succeed at dramatically higher rates.
- Start with one well-supported hire. Second chance hiring fails as a policy with no support and succeeds as a specific fair shot for a specific person.
Where SCI comes in
Sanctuary Community Initiative supports the candidate side of this equation: work clothes, tools, certifications, licenses, and the transportation to get to the job. When you hire someone connected to our community, you're not taking a flyer on an unknown, you're hiring someone with a scaffold most applicants don't have.
If you're a Phoenix-area employer curious about second chance hiring, we'd love to talk, and to be a resource as you build it out.
Start the conversation on our Contact page.
