Mississippi
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Contact:
Mississippi Department of Employment Security
1235 Echelon Parkway
P.O. Box 1699
Jackson, MS 39215-1699
601-321-6000
Information about State Department of Labor resources may be of interest to:
• potential employers looking for incentives to hire individuals with criminal histories;
• service providers and individuals with criminal histories who are looking for assistance in finding employment; and
• researchers and policy makers looking at current programs to ascertain what programs are effective and serve their intended purpose.
A. Federal Bonding Program
The Federal Bonding Program provides fidelity bonding insurance coverage to individuals with criminal histories and other high-risk job applicants who are qualified, but fail to get jobs because regular commercial bonding is denied due to their backgrounds.
Contact:
Mississippi Department of Employment Security
P.O. Box 1699
Jackson, MS 39215
601-321-6000
601-961-7516 fax
B. Tax Credits
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a federal tax credit to reduce the federal tax liability of private for profit employers to be used as an incentive for employers to hire individuals from eight different targeted groups: TANF recipients, veterans, ex-felons, high risk youth, summer youth, Food Stamp recipients, SSI recipients, and vocational rehabilitation referrals.
Contact:
Mississippi Department of Employment Security
1235 Echelon Parkway
P.O. Box 1699
Jackson, MS 39215-1699
601-321-6000
C. Unemployment Insurance Office
Unemployment compensation is a social insurance program designed to provide benefits to most individuals out of work, generally through no fault of their own, for periods between jobs. In order to be eligible for benefits, jobless workers must demonstrate that they have worked, usually measured by amount of wages and/or weeks of work, and must be able and available for work.
The unemployment compensation program is based upon federal law, but administered by states under state law.
Applicants for unemployment insurance must apply in person at their local unemployment claims office. Local job and claim centers are listed on the following web site: mdes.ms.gov/unemployment-claims/
Contact:
Unemployment Benefits
Mississippi Department of Employment Security
1235 Echelon Parkway
P.O. Box 1699
Jackson, MS 39215-1699
601-961-7724
Web Site: mdes.ms.gov/unemployment-claims/
This is the agency individuals may contact to obtain a copy of their state rap sheet. The criminal record repository can also tell the individual who else is legally entitled to have access to his or her record.
Employers and service providers may obtain information from the state attorney general regarding occupational bars, the licensing of individuals with criminal records in certain jobs, and whether the state has laws that limit what employers may ask job applicants or protections against employment discrimination based on a criminal record.
Contact:
550 High St # 1501
Jackson, MS 39201-1111, MS
(601) 359-3680
Web Site: www.ago.state.ms.us/
Contact:
Web Site: www.mdoc.ms.gov/Pages/default.aspx
Community Corrections Division - Boliver County
The Mississippi Department of Corrections Community Corrections Division is responsible for the supervision of probationers, parolees, residents in the restitution centers, inmates in community work centers, and those who are in intensive supervision or earned release supervision programs. Region I—Alcorn, Attala, Benton, Boliver, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Coahoma, Desoto, Grenada, Itawamba, Lafayette, Lee, Leflore, Marshall, Monroe, Montgomery, Panola, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Quitman, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tippah, Tishomingo, Tunica, Union, Washington, Webster, Winston, Yalobusha
Contact:
Boliver County
Mississippi Department of Corrections
Community Corrections Division
606 N Martin Luther King Drive (Temporary location)
Cleveland, MS 38762
662-843-0028
Community Corrections Division Region II
The Mississippi Department of Corrections Community Corrections Division is responsible for the supervision of probationers, parolees, residents in the restitution centers, inmates in community work centers, and those who are in intensive supervision or earned release supervision programs. Region II—Clarke, Clay, Covington, Hinds, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Jasper, Kemper, Lauderdale, Leake, Lowndes, Madison, Neshoba, Newton, Noxubee, Oktibbeha, Rankin, Scott, Sharkey, Simpson, Smith, Warren, Wayne, Yazoo
Contact:
Region II
Mississippi Department of Corrections
Community Corrections Division
421 W. Pascagoula St.
Jackson, MS 39205
601-354-6911
Community Corrections Division - Region III
The Mississippi Department of Corrections Community Corrections Division is responsible for the supervision of probationers, parolees, residents in the restitution centers, inmates in community work centers, and those who are in intensive supervision or earned release supervision programs. Region III—Adams, Amite, Claiborne, Copiah, Forrest, Franklin, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson Davis, Jones, Lamar, Lawrence, Lincoln, Marion, Perry, Pearl River, Pike, Stone, Walthall, Wilkinson
Contact:
Region III
5912 U.S. Highway 49 South
Space B-6
Cloverleaf Mall
Hattiesburg, MS 39401
State of Mississippi Parole Board
Contact:
State of Mississippi Parole Board
2660 North Street, Suite 100A
Jackson, MS 39202
601-576-3520
Free or low-cost legal resources, both in civil and criminal law, are helpful to individuals with criminal histories in learning about relevant state laws governing the expungement or sealing of criminal histories or addressing other legal issues resulting from having a criminal history.
A. State Public Defender
Contact:
Mississippi State Defender
P.O. Box 23029
Jackson, MS 39225
601-948-2683 or 601-969-7456
601-948-2687 fax
B. Legal Services
Contact:
Central Southwest Mississippi Legal Services
414 S. State St., 3rd Floor
P.O. Box 951
Jackson, MS 39205
601-948-6752 or 800-959-6752
601-948-6757 fax
Web Site: www.mslegalservices.org/
Contact:
North Mississippi Rural Legal
2134 W. Jackson Ave.
P.O. Box 767
Oxford, MS 38655
662-234-8731 or 800-898-8731
662-236-3263 fax
Web Site: www.nmrls.com
Contact:
South Mississippi Legal Services
111 Rue Magnolia, Suite 202
P.O. Box 1386
Biloxi, MS 39533
228-374-4160 or 888-660-0008
228-374-6045 fax
Web Site: www.mslegalservices.org/
Contact:
Southeast Mississippi Legal Services
111 E. Front St.
P.O. Drawer 1728
Hattiesburg, MS 39403
601-545-2950 or 800-773-1737
601-545-2935 fax
E-Mail: mslegal@netdoor.com
Web Site: www.mslegalservices.org/
C. State Bar Association
Contact:
Mississippi Bar
P.O. Box 2168
Jackson, MS 39225
601-948-4471
601-355-8635 fax
Web Site: www.msbar.org
Community agencies are available to assist individuals with criminal records find employment. This information will inform individuals with criminal records about government agencies and community-based organizations that assist with employment, education or vocational training. Researchers and policy makers may find this information useful in identifying agencies and service providers in order to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs.
Goodwill Industries of South Mississippi, Inc.
Goodwill Industries provide training, skill development and work opportunities for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment.
Contact:
Goodwill Industries of South Mississippi, Inc.
2407 31st St.
Gulfport, MS 39501
228-863-2323
228-863-5621 fax
Web Site: www.goodwillsms.org/
Goodwill Industries of Mississippi, Inc.
Goodwill Industries provide training, skill development and work opportunities for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment.
Contact:
Goodwill Industries of Mississippi, Inc.
104 E. State St.
Ridgeland, MS 39157
601-853-8110
601-853-8113 fax
Web Site: www.goodwillsms.org/