'Fair Chance Academy' to help employers foster employment opportunities for people with substance-use disorders

The foundation of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce is offering a three-day "Fair Chance Academy" to help employers foster employment opportunities for Kentuckians in recovery from substance use disorders who are ready to re-enter the workforce. 

“Employment is a critical component of long-term recovery, and the business community has an important role to play in helping individuals return to the workforce and reducing stigma around recovery in the workplace,” Morgan Kirk, director of the Kentucky Chamber Foundation’s Workforce Recovery Program, said in a news release. “We’re excited to begin offering this training to help employers transform lives, and we encourage businesses of all sizes and across all industries to apply.”

The Chamber will select 15 companies to participate in the inaugural Fair Chance Academy which will involve three, full-day training workshops at the Kentucky Chamber Headquarters in Frankfort on May 11, May 25 and June 8. Applications for the academy close on Friday, April 15. Click here to apply.   

Following the training, participants will spend three months implementing actionable steps within their companies to become fair chance employers, a practice that reduces many of the roadblocks that make it difficult for candidates in recovery or with a criminal conviction to get hired. 

"Certifying employers as ‘fair chance’ can provide stable employment for someone, which is a critical component of long-term recovery," Van Ingram, executive director of the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy, said in the release. "This can provide Kentuckians with the purpose and motivation they might need to stay in remission and get their lives back.”

Employers will also have the opportunity to participate in a discussion with Sam Quinones, author of “The Least of Us,” who has been nationally recognized for his writings on the opioid crisis.

The Fair Chance Academy is part of the foundation’s Transformational Employment Program, which launched last year. This program provides a bridge from recovery to employment by lessening the risk of employers who hire or retain people with substance-use disorder, if the employees sign up for treatment and complete it. To date, 55 Kentucky employers are signed up, which impacts more than 11,000 employees.

April is National Second Chance Month.