Leader in Corrections Communications Accelerates Second Chance Hiring, while Advancing Innovation that Promotes Employment at Reentry

DALLAS, April 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Aventiv Technologies (Aventiv), a modern technology platform and leader in developing solutions to empower rehabilitative justice and public safety, proudly joins the nationwide observance of Second Chance Month this April. The Dallas-based company is reaffirming its continued dedication to fair chance hiring practices for all eligible positions as they continue their focus on providing leading solutions — from Honest Jobs to Untapped Solutions to a full suite of education resources — that connect incarcerated individuals with resources that accelerate post-incarceration employment.

Studies show that having a criminal record reduces the likelihood of a job callback or offer by as much as 50 percent, and nearly 63 percent of formerly incarcerated people remain unemployed a year after release. Yet, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, there are 9.5 million job openings in the U.S., and only 6.5 million unemployed workers available to fill them.

This current labor shortage underscores the urgency of embracing fair chance hiring as a viable talent solution across industries. Second Chance Month serves as a reminder for decision-makers to consider justice-impacted individuals in their recruitment and hiring processes, particularly given these candidates traditionally have higher retention and lower turnover rates than the general population, resulting in significant recruitment cost savings for companies.

Aventiv actively supports fair chance hiring practices and procedures for all eligible positions, including removing questions about criminal records from employment applications. As a result, in 2023, 12 percent of the company’s new associates were fair-chance hires, a 200 percent increase versus 2022. This fair chance hiring commitment is set to increase to 15 percent for eligible positions in 2024, underscoring the company’s steadfast belief that a conviction represents a moment in time and every individual deserves a fair chance to achieve their potential.

“Aventiv is committed to fair chance hiring practices for eligible positions within our organization, recognizing that our ability to lead transformation is driven by modeling best practices and acknowledging the potential in an often-unrecognized talent pool,” said Dave Abel, CEO, Aventiv. “Aventiv is equally dedicated to providing innovative solutions that revolutionize the way incarcerated individuals gain access to educational tools, job opportunities and training, and other essential resources that encourage successful reentry.”

Aventiv has deployed more than 600K tablets through state and county correctional facilities nationwide, each equipped with education, employment, and job training content that allows incarcerated individuals to develop their skills and work on finding employment opportunities tailored to their needs:

  • Honest Jobs, a job board tailored to justice-impacted individuals, has facilitated an average of 2.9 million job searches per month, since it was deployed on Securus tablets in August 2023. The app, designed by justice-impacted founder Harley Blakeman, connects incarcerated individuals with more than 400,000 jobs posted by over 1,400 fair chance employers.
  • Untapped Solutions is an AI-powered platform offering wraparound services to support individuals through their reentry journey. From job placement assistance to resourcing options to help with housing and transportation solutions—conditions that often lead to employment, the app leverages technology to support justice-impacted individuals and employers, who want fair chance hire candidates to succeed.
  • Essential Education, Securus Lantern, and Edovo programming available on tablets provide post-secondary education, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and an abundance of resources to help incarcerated individuals complete educational programs from high school diplomas to two-year and even four-year degrees. Aventiv has partnered with 12 colleges that offer post-secondary education programs within nine state corrections departments. Thousands of students are enrolled in educational programming as a result of these partnerships.

“Technology acts as a scale multiplier and apps like Honest Jobs help incarcerated individuals returning home find employment options that are best suited to their specific skills and location, increasing their chances of successful reentry,” said Gretchen Meyer, Chief Human Resources Officer at Aventiv. “Honest Jobs goes even further by identifying employers like Aventiv who embrace fair chance hiring and then helps pair them with a qualified talent pool that meets their needs.”

Honest Jobs has reduced the average time incarcerated individuals spend job searching from four months to just 25 days, creating pathways to stable, meaningful employment for justice-impacted individuals.

“As we recognize Second Chance Month, it’s crucial to acknowledge the transformative impact of fair chance employment for our communities as having a job is often a prerequisite for justice-impacted individuals to secure other services – from housing to simply opening a bank account – that ease the path to reentry,” said Harley Blakeman, Founder of Honest Jobs. “Together with innovators like Aventiv who embrace second chances, we’re breaking down outdated systemic barriers and finding solutions for some of our most pressing societal challenges, from recidivism to unemployment.”

For more information about Aventiv Technologies and its commitment to Second Chance Month, please visit https://www.aventiv.com/press.

About Aventiv Technologies
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Aventiv Technologies serves more than 3,450 public safety, law enforcement, and corrections agencies and over 1,100,000 incarcerated individuals across North America. Aventiv is committed to serve and connect by providing emergency response, incident management, public information, investigation, biometric analysis, communication, information management, incarcerated self-service, and monitoring products and services in order to make our world a safer place to live. For more information, please visit www.Aventiv.com or LinkedIn. Aventiv is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity. Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with a portfolio of approximately 40 operating companies that serve customers around the world.

About Honest Jobs
Honest Jobs (www.honestjobs.com) is the nation’s leading employment platform for people impacted by the criminal legal system. Founded in 2018, Honest Jobs developed a job board to address the specific needs of job seekers with criminal records, dramatically reducing rejection and the time it takes for job seekers to find employment (up to 8x faster). Honest Jobs’ Founder and CEO, Harley Blakeman, was previously incarcerated due to felony convictions, and many of the employees at Honest Jobs are also justice-involved. Since its inception, Honest Jobs has grown to over 110,000 job seekers, 1,500 fair-chance employers, and a network of 20,000+ community-based partners.