EMPLOYMENT & POLICE RECORDS

While JHSO has been researching and advocating for job seekers with criminal records for over a decade, this last year, we focused our efforts on understanding the hiring climate among Canadian employers and the labour market prospects for job seekers with records. Through our new research, outlined in our report, Not In My Workplace: Addressing Workplace Exclusion of Individuals with Criminal Records, we learned that many Canadian employers continue to discriminate against qualified candidates based on the presence of a criminal record, despite historic labour shortages. In fact, many Canadian employers automatically exclude these job seekers, without any further assessment of the type of record they have or the circumstances in which they obtained it. Our research received widespread media coverage, sparking discussions and raising awareness about the importance of employment opportunities for someone looking to rebuild their life. It was shared across a total of 20 media platforms, news broadcasts, and articles.  

This research emphasized the urgency of the work of our Fair Chances Coalition, which continues to generate awareness and catalyze change among HR departments and corporate culture in Canada. Thanks to generous ongoing support of the Metcalf Foundation, and new funding from the Workforce Funder Collaborative, in the last year, we added 5 new members to the Coalition, hosted over 10 educational events to generate awareness around fair chances, and reached hundreds of employers and employment service agencies to promote inclusivity for Canadians with criminal records. This work is crucial to increasing employment opportunities for these Canadians, ultimately helping them avoid a lifetime of poverty and marginalization.  

REINTEGRATION

JHSO has continued to advocate for and collaborate with partners to improve reintegration practices in Ontario. This year, we have focused our efforts on several key initiatives.  

We have continued to support the development and expansion of the Systems Navigator and Mental Health and Addictions Peer Support programs at our offices in Toronto, Peel and York Region. These initiatives provide tailored support, helping individuals navigate the complex landscape of reintegration and access essential services.  

In addition, we have launched a new reintegration project with McMaster University through the Mitacs Fellowship Grant and participated in the largest study on reintegration in Canada, led by Dr. Sandra Bucerius and Dr. Luca Berardi. Our involvement in this innovative research has positioned us to explore ways to expand this project within Ontario. 

Further, JHSO continues to collaborate as a key stakeholder with the Human Services and Justice Coordinating Committee and the Ministry of Solicitor General on the Community Reintegration Planning Tables, ensuring that our community’s voices are heard in policy development.  

On a federal level, our work with partners at Public Safety Canada and Infrastructure Canada supports the federal framework for reducing recidivism, ensuring that Ontario’s justice-related issues are considered within this broader context. These efforts highlight the importance of our ongoing advocacy and the need for expanded support systems to help justice-involved individuals successfully reintegrate into society. 

HOUSING

JHSO has long recognized the importance of housing to successful reintegration. Two years ago, JHSO released the No Fixed Address report, which provided a novel analysis of admissions data for people entering provincial corrections. Our findings highlighted the growing number of admissions to provincial corrections with no fixed address.

Over the past year, we have spoken to people with lived experience of homelessness and justice system involvement and service providers to ground that quantitative analysis in an understanding of the barriers to accessing housing across Ontario and opportunities to improve housing outcomes for justice involved populations. What we learned from this research is that justice system involvement and experiences of incarceration cause and perpetuate homelessness, and people exiting corrections are in need of immediate housing supports, wraparound services and navigation services to promote successful reintegration. This points to an important conclusion; that given their unique needs and challenges, dedicated housing for justice involved people is crucial.

Over the next few months, the public report Locked Up. Locked Out will be released detailing the qualitative findings from the sample of 123 surveys and 52 interviews. Building on this research, and with the generous support of the Maytree Foundation, JHSO’s work is also underway on a project to introduce policy solutions and guidelines on housing for justice involved people to ensure strategies to promote affordable, supportive housing are inclusive of the unique needs of justice involved populations. Through these research and policy initiatives, JHSO is helping to make sure Ontarians exiting corrections are able to access safe, accessible housing and break free from the revolving door of homelessness and justice system involvement.

LOOKING AHEAD

Overview/Intro

As we look towards the next year at JHSO, we are focused on increasing our impact in digital spaces. From our data collection efforts to our resource and knowledge dissemination, we are focusing our efforts on modernizing the ways we learn and communicate throughout the JHS network, with our stakeholders, and with the community.  

Client Case Management System 

As we continue to ensure programs and services at the John Howard Society local offices are evidence based and data informed, JHSO is spearheading the implementation of a robust client management system across several local offices. The client management system will allow local JHS offices to standardize the collection of client and program data. In addition, it allows JHSO to demonstrate collective impact across the province. We will be working closely with Vitalhubs CaseWORKS software over the next 12 months on the implementation of the software. 

Learning Hub 2.0 

Later this year, JHSO will be working to broaden the scope of free legal information available on the JHS Learning Hub and reach new justice system actors across Ontario in the process. By the end of 2024, we hope to revitalize our JHS Learning Hub to allow for not only community service providers working with justice-involved clients, but also lawyers and the clients themselves to access more information about the collateral consequences of justice system involvement. New training modules will be released focused on the unique experiences of Black and Indigenous populations in the justice system, including the unique barriers and compounding civil legal issues that can stem from criminal justice involvement. We will also be looking to support legal counsel, particularly duty counsel, with quick and easy to use resources designed to avoid the escalation of the collateral consequences of justice involvement. 

Training Page/Hub Launch 

As we modernize and digitize our data collection and resource dissemination, we’re also looking to digitize how we share knowledge gained from our collective experience, research and evaluation. In 2024, JHSO will be launching a new training hub that will have curated, evergreen training courses available for purchase. This training will reflect the training JHSO and our JHS network of local offices already offer, but will be accessible online, available at the learner’s discretion, and provide certification for professional development.