“Nobody is really going to hire a 69-year-old man with a felony record”: challenges finding employment for older, formerly incarcerated individuals

Abstract

Despite the aging of those in our prisons and the increasing numbers of older incarcerated individuals returning home, much of the research on reentry challenges focuses on the experiences of individuals under the age of 50. Using in-depth interviews with 19 formerly incarcerated individuals who were released after the age of 50, we examined their reentry experience, particularly in regards to finding employment. We found that while this population experienced barriers to finding a job that were similar to their younger counterparts (e.g., stigma, the lack of proper documentation, etc.), they also struggled to find employment due to age-related factors like deteriorating health, ageism, and digital illiteracy. The results from this study can help policymakers better prepare for and appropriately anticipate the needs of its older returning citizens, a group often left out of most reentry discussions.

Keywords:

• employment
• reentry
• ageism
• interviews
• technology

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Notes

1 Because the defining age to be deemed elderly in state and federal prisons varies between 50 and 55 and because our participants did not come from just one state or one correctional system, we chose 50 as our “starting” or defining age to ensure inclusivity for those who may have been considered elderly while incarcerated.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee Campus Office of Research Interdisciplinary Research Grant.