Released offenders can get employability certificate

DES MOINES – Former prison inmates and ex-offenders who have demonstrated they can successfully obtain employment now can receive a special certificate from the state Department of Corrections.

Effective Wednesday, the Iowa Board of Parole implemented its certificate of employability program, joining Iowa with New York and Illinois as the only states that offer such a certification option for ex-offenders.

Under the Iowa program, an ex-offender that can demonstrate a commitment and desire for employment when trying to enter or re-enter the workforce may be eligible for a certificate.

Parole Board officials stressed that the certificate is not a pardon, and it does not indicate an ex-offender's level of rehabilitation. The certificate will indicate only that an ex-offender has shown the Department of Corrections and the Board of Parole that he or she can successfully obtain employment, according to a statement issued by Clarence Key, parole board executive director.

The legislatively mandated program was passed in May 2008 by the Iowa General Assembly and signed by Gov. Chet Culver to be created and implemented by July 1, 2009.