LEADERSHIP NOTES
MANY BENEFITS TO GIVING JOB CANDIDATES A FAIR CHANCE I don’t know about you, but I can’t believe it’s already June! This year has been a whirlwind of fantastic Chamber events including last week’s Fair Chance Hiring Workshop and Expo. We partnered with CJAC to educate businesses on the benefits of fair chance hiring practices. It’s all about giving opportunities to people previously involved with the justice system and judging job candidates on their qualifications and abilities rather than past mistakes. During the event we heard several success stories. One hit me particularly hard. It was about a woman who’d been arrested 26. But instead of a lengthy prison sentence, the district attorney’s office allowed her to participate in a rigorous diversion program. The woman received safe housing, food, clothing, transportation, medical care, therapy and other services she needed to rebuild her life, including professional training. Today, she is thriving, working at a treatment center serving people just like her. Our community would not have been served by sending this woman to prison for 24 years. Our community is served by this woman feeling excited about going to work every day to help and serve others. We also heard from companies that have had great success with fair chance hiring. We heard repeatedly that the justice-involved employees are extremely loyal. The numbers back it up. Studies have shown that formerly incarcerated people have higher retention rates than employees without a criminal record. If you’d like to learn more, download our Fair Chance Hiring Toolkit at OKCountyCJAC.com. Thank you for your partnership and engagement in the Chamber and OKC!
CHRISTY GILLENWATER President & CEO
READ CHRISTY’S VELOCITYOKC ONLINE STORY OF THE MONTH
CONTENTS
“Cultural restoration part of development plan in NE OKC” VELOCITYOKC.COM/ CHRISTYSPICK
10 Build your talent pipeline at InternOKC 11 Chamber assists businesses impacted by tornado 12 Fair chance success stories shared at CJAC/chamber event 14 Innovative programs play pivotal role in startup success
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