BARBERS, CAREGIVERS, AND THE "DISCIPLINARY SUBJECT": OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE FOR PEOPLE WITH CRIMINAL JUSTICE BACKGROUNDS IN THE UNITED STATES

It is commonly assumed that people with criminal backgrounds are ineligible for licensed employment in the United States. This study, based on more than one hundred interviews with occupational-certification officials in states across the country, demonstrates that people with conviction histories s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Fordham urban law journal Vol. 46; no. 4; p. 719
Main Author Ewald, Alec C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Fordham Urban Law Journal 22.06.2019
Subjects
Barbers
Demographic aspects
Employment
Ex-convicts
Laws, regulations and rules
Licenses
Licensing, certification and accreditation
Nurses' aides
Online AccessGet full text
ISSN0199-4646

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Summary:It is commonly assumed that people with criminal backgrounds are ineligible for licensed employment in the United States. This study, based on more than one hundred interviews with occupational-certification officials in states across the country, demonstrates that people with conviction histories seeking professional credentials confront an unpredictable process that resurrects and amplifies their records and often requires them to perform their rehabilitation, good character, and governability. State laws are extremely varied, complex, and sometimes opaque; application procedures expose would-be licensees to inspection and judgment by a variety of public and private actors. People with criminal backgrounds are not flatly excluded from occupational certification. Indeed, significant percentages of those who manage to navigate the application process do become licensed barbers and nursing assistants, according to officials and available state data. But neither licensed barbers nor nursing assistants are restored to full and equal standing. They are in a kind of liminal state, one that is uncertain and precarious. Even when they succeed, people with criminal records seeking licensure often need to navigate a process that reinforces their diminished status and their vulnerability to state authority and private power.
ISSN:0199-4646