JFF Expands Employer Services to Promote Fair Chance Hiring

Jobs for the Future (JFF) is excited to announce the expansion of the employer services offered through its Center for Justice & Economic Advancement to help businesses confidently implement fair chance hiring practices and expand their workforces.

Building on the success of JFF’s Fair Chance Corporate Cohort training program, these new services include seven customizable workshops, one-on-one consulting with fair chance employment experts, and flexible cohort models tailored to address the unique needs of employers across multiple industries. These offerings provide practical tools and expert support to help businesses attract, hire, and retain talented workers with records of arrest, conviction, or incarceration, addressing critical talent shortages while driving new opportunities for upward economic mobility.

“At JFF, we know that adopting fair chance hiring practices is both a business solution and a social imperative,” said Lucretia Murphy, vice president of the Center for Justice & Economic Advancement. “These expanded services offer employers new ways to engage with fair chance hiring and build stronger, high-performing teams.”

JFF Senior Director Khalilah “KO” Olokunola will lead these efforts. A nationally recognized expert in fair chance employment and human resources strategies, Olokunola is the author of DO Recruit: A Guide to Unleashing the Power of Fair Chance Hiring. With more than two decades of experience in workforce development, she will oversee the delivery of these new services alongside the center’s employer change initiatives team, which includes Lisa Durkin, Jocelyn Liberatore, Crystal Mourlas-Jaun, and Anne Parmeter.

“Joining JFF represents a meaningful next step in my lifelong commitment to expanding opportunities for people with records,” said Olokunola. “I’m excited to help employers realize they’ve overlooked incredible talent.”

A National Opportunity to Drive Change

Between 70 million and 100 million people in the United States have a record that can create barriers to accessing quality jobs.

Expanding employment opportunities for members of this population through fair chance hiring is a win-win-win: It’s good for people, businesses, and communities. Employers have found that these practices enable them to address staffing shortages and unlock a higher return on their HR investments by connecting them with skilled and dedicated workers who can drive business growth and success.

These fair chance employer change initiatives play a key role in enabling JFF to achieve its North Star goal: By 2033, 75 million Americans facing barriers to economic advancement will have quality jobs..

Olokunola expressed confidence that the expanded services will benefit a range of stakeholders. “With the right tools and support,” she said, “companies can hire people with records confidently, unlocking potential that benefits individuals, businesses, and communities alike.”