Connecticut NAACP Hosts Second Chance Jobs Summit, Co-Hosted by CHA and Other Partners

On Wednesday, June 18, the Connecticut NAACP hosted the Second Chance Jobs Summit as part of the organization’s Million Jobs Campaign.  The event was cohosted by the Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA), the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA), the Connecticut Office of Workforce Strategy, and Capital Community College.

The summit was held at the Capital Community College in Hartford and served as both a Juneteenth celebration as well as a statewide call to action focused on opening doors to employment for justice-impacted individuals.  The conference spotlighted the urgent need to expand second-chance hiring practices in Connecticut and examined barriers to this cause.  The event also included the presentation of awards to organizations making great strides in hiring justice-impacted individuals, including Yale New Haven Health and Hartford HealthCare. 

Chris O’Connor, chief executive officer, Yale New Haven Health, delivered remarks during the event.  Jennifer Jackson, CEO, CHA, joined a panel discussion at the event focused on strategies, barriers, and lessons learned by employers when it comes to second-chance hiring.

“Everyone deserves a pathway to contribute, to heal, and to belong,” said Chris O’Connor, addressing attendees at the start of the meeting.  “Thank you for pushing this partnership, and we are proud to partner with you.”

At the event, CT NAACP State Conference President and Chairman of the NAACP National Criminal Justice Committee Scot X. Esdaile explained the origins of the Million Jobs Campaign, which launched in 2019 and involved collaboration with CHA.  It included a pledge to engage in ongoing partnerships to enhance opportunities for individuals who have been directly impacted by the criminal justice system.  This included an extensive partnership with numerous employers in the healthcare sector, such as Yale New Haven Health.

“We know the transformative power of employment,” said Jackson, as she highlighted hospitals’ commitment to the Million Jobs Campaign since the kickoff in 2019.  Jackson emphasized that Connecticut hospitals and health systems — which create 259,877 jobs, making them the largest employer in the state — remain committed to inclusive hiring practices.  Hospitals are focused on the health of their communities and the influence of upstream social, economic, and environmental drivers of health, including stable employment, on health, she said.

Throughout the event, attendees explored how inclusive employment supports stronger workforces, a more equitable and stable economy, and dramatically reduces recidivism.  The goals of the summit were to enhance employer, governmental, and agency understanding of the second-chance hiring landscape; share evidence of the value of hiring justice-impacted individuals ⁠— for them, for forward-thinking companies, and for the local economy ⁠— and the successful work of the Million Jobs Campaign; and mobilize businesses, institutions of higher learning, and public sector leaders to take meaningful action on what is, at its core, a civil rights issue.

Attendees at the event also included Dr. Andrew Agwonobi, chief executive officer, UConn Health; State Treasurer Erick Russell; Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas; Kelli-Marie Vallieres, chief workforce officer, Office of Health Strategy (OHS); Charles Botts, III, workforce development coordinator, Department of Corrections; and George Norfleet, executive director, Office of Business Development at Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.