New Haven employers not excited about City Hall's re-entry plan

Brent Butler is lucky: He's employed. Butler spent 13 years in prison on drug, murder conspiracy and assault charges, and his criminal record was a big turn-off to employers. Every time Butler applied for a job, he had to check 'Yes' in a box on the application asking if he was a convicted felon.

"I served my time. Give me an opportunity to be productive," says the 37-year-old ex-drug dealer with graying stubble on his cheeks.

Being turned down repeatedly for jobs is embarrassing and infuriating for ex-offenders who want to do right. "A lot of them will just say, 'Lemme go back to the streets. Deal some drugs. Make some money,'" says Butler. "That contributes to the crime in this city."

New Haven City Hall understands that and is trying to make it easier for ex-cons to get jobs. City Hall hopes other city employers will follow suit.

"They said that?" asks Yale spokesman Tom Conroy. Yale is the city's largest employer, and its job applications have the little box that was such a source of frustration to Butler.

Butler is now one of New Haven's eight Street Outreach workers, trying to get kids on the right path.

Most of the Street Outreach workers are ex-offenders, says Barbara Tinney, whose New Haven Family Alliance manages the program. "They are reliable, accountable and just as dependable as anyone else on my staff," she says.

That little box, says Tinney, "is an unfair barrier."

New Haven's Community Service Administrator Kica Matos is fine-tuning New Haven's proposal to do away with the criminal conviction box on applications for city jobs. (The Board of Aldermen will have the final say this fall.) The topic would be broached later in the interview process, which would allow applicants with a record to get their foot in the door and explain the circumstances of their arrest in person.

New Haven is following a model seen in at least five cities and six states that have passed similar legislation.

But some of the largest employers in New Haven—Yale University, Yale-New Haven Hospital, St. Raphael's Hospital, Southern Connecticut State University, AT&T and United Illuminating—aren't willing to make such a commitment yet.

It's premature for Yale to comment on that possibility, says Conroy. In SCSU's case, it would be a state decision.

United Illuminating probably won't eliminate the box on its applications, says spokesman Al Carbone. But, he adds, "This information doesn't preclude ex-offenders from employment. We have hired ex-offenders."

New Haven Mayor John DeStefano estimates that the state Department of Corrections drops off 25 ex-prisoners a week on New Haven streets. The challenges they face are enormous. Desperation leads many to re-offend. According to a 2006 study by the DOC, 39 percent of Connecticut ex-offenders become re-offenders.

Landing a job is "critical," says retiring state Rep. Bill Dyson (D-New Haven), an advocate for the prisoner re-entry population. "Jobs determine whether they're going to have housing and can take care of themselves," he says.

Carolyn McClendon of Christian Community Action and Mothers for Justice thinks the plan could help. Many of her clients, like Ayesha Branham, are in homeless shelters because they can't get a job.

Branham, 27, has two toddlers, a felony record and one year left on her two-year contract at Christian Community Action's transitional housing program.

Her crime—possession of narcotics—"was a mistake that I made but it makes me feel like I'm gonna pay for it my whole life," she says.

Branham worked in medical records and was a home health aide before she was arrested in 2004. She's had scores of job interviews but the end result is always the same: "We'd love to have you work with us, but..."

Johnny Daniels, 46, who's at a different Christian Community Action shelter, was convicted of assaults and possession of narcotics about 20 years ago. "They were poor choices," he says. He recently spent a short stint in jail on misdemeanor charges.

Whenever he applies for a job, he hears: "We'll get back to you." But they never do, he says. "And when I call back they say, 'Oh, we filled the position.' It's very frustrating and tiresome."

Kenneth Driffin, who helps homeless ex-offenders land jobs, says, "There are a lot of people who just say, 'F it: I'm gonna go find some money if I can't make money.'"

For many that means returning to the streets—it's easier than getting a legitimate job. 

byagla@newhavenadvocate.com