On April 21, 2023, the NC Justice Center and The Athlete's Foot hosted a three-hour symposium designed to bring together engaged North Carolina residents, directly impacted people, and North Carolina business leaders.
The symposium provided background information on the state of employment for justice-involved people in North Carolina, sharing how more than 1.2 million North Carolinians have had some contact with the criminal justice system. This was followed by a fireside chat during which panelists discussed how our workforce would benefit from second chance reforms and what can be done to combat the barriers to employment for justice-involved people
Employers who have implemented fair chance hiring practices in their businesses offered advice to others who are interested in becoming second-chance employers. Attendees learned about efforts like
record expungement, driver’s license restoration, and mugshot reform can reduce barriers to employment for justice-impacted people.
Closing remarks were given by NC Justice Center Executive Director Reggie Shuford and Whitley Carpenter, Senior Criminal Justice Counsel at Forward Justice. They urged all advocates, allies, and directly impacted citizens to work together, taking bold action to make North Carolina a more just state.
