Careers After Prison: Preventing Recidivism by Reforming Restrictive Licensing Regimes

A prisoner leaving confinement in the United States is unlikely to seamlessly reintegrate into society. People leaving incarceration face a cornucopia of economic and social barriers that prevent them from easily finding secure economic footing. The well-established link between unemployment and recidivism materializes when economic circumstances drive the poor and desperate back toward crime and back into prison. This vicious circle not only rips apart families and communities but also imposes a ruinously expensive financial burden on states. Despite this cost, many states continue to bar formerly incarcerated people from their most viable opportunities to become peaceful and productive members of society. This Comment shows how the occupational licensing regimes currently in place in many states act to push people out of the workforce on no rational basis. But an alternative standard based on negligent hiring law could balance the protective and rehabilitative policies of licensing regimes. By doing so, it would allow formerly incarcerated people a shot at lawful independence. Maintenance of an irrational system, though, produces only irrational results.