When most people think of public safety, the first words that come to their mind are probably not “workforce development.”
Yet, workforce development and public safety have a hidden nexus that most people overlook, sometimes including Oklahoma’s public policy leaders.
The hidden nexus is simple: fair chance or second chance hiring expands the state’s workforce while simultaneously increasing public safety. How? As justice-involved individuals advance through their diversion and treatment programs, employment plays a critical role in program success which reduces recidivism dramatically. Consequently, reduced recidivism increases public safety as people once engaged in law-breaking are guided out of their past into new life as law-abiding, gainfully employed neighbors. The graduates’ goals are the same as almost everyone: flourishing children, successful jobs, and contributing to a community.
Read the full opinion editorial, here.
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