--- title: "Inside JBM Packaging's Second-Chance Employment Program" canonical: "https://www.metaintro.com/blog/jbm-second-chance-employment-2026" language: "en" author: "drashtigarach" published: "2026-04-28T13:30:42.000Z" modified: "2026-04-28T13:30:42.000Z" --- [Back to Blog](/blog) [Hiring](/blog/tag/hiring)[News](/blog/tag/news)[Information](/blog/tag/information) # Inside JBM Packaging's Second-Chance Employment Program: A Model That's Working in 2026 Inside JBM Packaging's prison training program: 40% fair-chance workforce, 70% lower turnover, and the 2026 playbook every manufacturer should learn from. [![Drashti Garach](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:40:40/q:72/plain/images/5719d740-e510-42bc-8017-e040d145f35f_1766029465094.png)Drashti Garach @DrashtiGarach](/blog/author/drashtigarach) [April 28, 2026](/blog/archive/2026/04)11 min read ![Inside JBM Packaging's Second-Chance Employment Program: A Model That's Working in 2026](https://cdn.metaintro.com/rs:fill:1200:675/q:78/plain/images/kai.GGOvb7b6.png) [https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=Inside%20JBM%20Packaging's%20Second-Chance%20Employment%20Program%3A%20A%20Model%20That's%20Working%20in%202026&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fjbm-second-chance-employment-2026](https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=Inside%20JBM%20Packaging's%20Second-Chance%20Employment%20Program%3A%20A%20Model%20That's%20Working%20in%202026&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fjbm-second-chance-employment-2026)[http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fjbm-second-chance-employment-2026](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fjbm-second-chance-employment-2026)[https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fjbm-second-chance-employment-2026&title=Inside%20JBM%20Packaging's%20Second-Chance%20Employment%20Program%3A%20A%20Model%20That's%20Working%20in%202026](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fjbm-second-chance-employment-2026&title=Inside%20JBM%20Packaging's%20Second-Chance%20Employment%20Program%3A%20A%20Model%20That's%20Working%20in%202026)[mailto:?subject=Inside%20JBM%20Packaging's%20Second-Chance%20Employment%20Program%3A%20A%20Model%20That's%20Working%20in%202026&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fjbm-second-chance-employment-2026](mailto:?subject=Inside%20JBM%20Packaging's%20Second-Chance%20Employment%20Program%3A%20A%20Model%20That's%20Working%20in%202026&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.metaintro.com%2Fblog%2Fjbm-second-chance-employment-2026) When a packaging company in Lebanon, Ohio crossed a quiet milestone this April, it offered a blueprint that the rest of American manufacturing has been searching for. [JBM Packaging](https://www.jbmpackaging.com/) celebrated the first full-time hire to graduate from its in-prison training program at London Correctional Institution, a worker who walked out of incarceration straight into a skilled machine adjuster role. The headline is the graduate. The story is the system that produced him, and the business case that has quietly turned a 162-person family-owned envelope manufacturer into one of the most studied second-chance employers in the country. Roughly 40 percent of JBM's workforce now comes through fair-chance hiring, retention is higher than the industry average, and the company has spent nearly a decade proving that reentry talent is not a charity line item but a competitive advantage in a tight labor market. Platforms like [Metaintro](https://www.metaintro.com) are tracking exactly this kind of employer playbook for the next generation of hiring teams. This is how the program actually works, why it pays back, and what employers facing manufacturing labor shortages can borrow from JBM's playbook in 2026. ## What JBM's program actually does JBM's fair-chance program did not start with the prison classroom. It started in 2016 inside the company's existing Lebanon plant, when CEO Marcus Sheanshang decided to formally open hiring to applicants with criminal histories rather than screen them out. What grew from that decision is a layered pipeline that now includes recruitment from local reentry partners, on-site training at a state correctional facility, and a wraparound support system that follows the worker long after the first shift. The most ambitious piece is the partnership with Ohio's [London Correctional Institution](https://drc.ohio.gov/). JBM installed real envelope manufacturing equipment on prison grounds and trains incarcerated participants as machine adjusters for roughly 32 hours per week over six to 12 months before release. Participants are paid a fair wage during training, money that compounds into something powerful by graduation day. The program's first graduate left with more than $5K saved, enough to buy a car, get a phone, and cover the small but stubborn costs of reentry that derail so many returning citizens in their first 90 days out. Wage progression continues on the JBM side of the fence. Graduates step into packaging machine technician roles at competitive manufacturing wages and follow the same advancement track as any other operator, with raises tied to skill certifications and tenure rather than a separate second chance pay band. The structural choice matters. Workers are not slotted into a permanent underclass of jobs. They are hired as machine adjusters because that is what they trained to be. Mentorship is the connective tissue. JBM employs an on-staff change coach who works with every fair-chance hire on the practical mechanics of building a stable life: housing applications, vehicle purchases, conflict resolution at work and at home, parenting and relationship guidance, and the relentless logistics of probation appointments and license reinstatement. Team-building training and life coaching extend to the entire workforce, which keeps fair-chance hires from being labeled as the only ones who need help. Everybody gets the support, so nobody is singled out for needing it. Together, these pieces add up to a program that is closer to workforce development than traditional recruiting. JBM is not waiting for talent to be ready. It is building the talent. ## The business outcomes Charity does not survive a recession. Business cases do. The reason JBM's program has scaled from a single trial hire in 2016 to roughly 65 fair-chance employees today is that the numbers consistently work in the company's favor. Retention is the headline. Industry data cited in [HR Dive's coverage](https://www.hrdive.com/news/jbm-packaging-second-chance-hiring-prison-first-graduate/818594/) of JBM's program shows that workers who have been judicially involved are roughly 70 percent less likely to leave their employer than the average hire, an advantage that compounds enormously in manufacturing where average annual turnover sits north of 35 percent. Lower churn means lower recruiting spend, fewer training restarts, and a stable production line that does not lurch with each resignation. Comparable employers report similar dynamics. [Nehemiah Manufacturing](https://www.greaterohio.org/good-ideas/nehemiah-industries) in Cincinnati, the most-cited peer to JBM, has built a workforce that is 80 to 85 percent second-chance hires and reports a 15 percent annual turnover rate against an industry standard near 40 percent. Nehemiah estimates that low churn saves the company between $315K and $525K a year in onboarding costs alone, and average tenure has stretched to seven years versus a sector average closer to five. Productivity is the other surprise. An [SHRM survey of HR professionals](https://www.shrm.org/foundation/widening-pathways-to-work/people-with-criminal-records) found that roughly 85 percent rate workers with criminal records as performing the same or better than peers without records. JBM's leadership echoes that finding internally, citing equal or superior performance from fair-chance employees on the line. Combined with the retention advantage, the math creates a workforce that is more loyal, more experienced, and ultimately cheaper to keep on payroll. Growth follows. JBM's participants have produced more than one million envelopes since the program launched, and the company has expanded its fair-chance footprint while its competitors fight for entry-level operators on a shrinking labor market. Three LoCI graduates have been hired so far, with a fourth expected by year-end. The pipeline is small by design. JBM is not optimizing for headcount. It is optimizing for hires that stick, the same retention math that job seekers can find on [Metaintro](https://www.metaintro.com) when they search for employers who actually invest in their workforce. ## How second-chance hiring works in 2026 The policy backdrop has shifted in ways every employer should understand before launching a program in 2026. The federal [Work Opportunity Tax Credit](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/work-opportunity-tax-credit), which historically covered up to $2.4K per qualified ex-felon hire calculated as 40 percent of the first $6K in wages, entered a legislative hiatus on January 1, 2026 when its statutory authority expired. New WOTC certifications are paused while Congress decides whether to reauthorize the program. Employers who hired in 2025 can still claim the credit for those workers, and most reentry advocates expect WOTC to return, but the planning assumption for any 2026 program should be that the federal subsidy is uncertain. The retention savings have to carry the math on their own. Fortunately, as the JBM and Nehemiah numbers show, they usually do. Outside of WOTC, several frameworks remain fully operational. The [SHRM Foundation's Getting Talent Back to Work](https://www.shrm.org/about/press-room/thousands-businesses-pledge-to-hiring-criminal-record) initiative, launched in 2019 alongside the First Step Act, gives employers a free toolkit, sample policies, and a public pledge that more than 3,000 organizations have signed. The toolkit covers application questions, background check policies, and onboarding scripts, and is the fastest way for an HR team to translate intent into process. State and federal partnerships are equally important. JBM's prison program runs in collaboration with the [Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction](https://drc.ohio.gov/). Federal employers can build similar pipelines with the [Bureau of Prisons](https://www.bop.gov/) through its Federal Bonding Program and Ready to Work initiative, which pre-screen and pre-train candidates for specific industries. Local reentry nonprofits, parole offices, and community colleges round out the recruiting funnel. Training certifications matter at the candidate level. Many programs now bundle OSHA-10, forklift certification, and machine-specific credentials into the prerelease curriculum so workers can prove competence on day one. JBM's machine-adjuster training functions this way: participants are not learning generic workplace skills, they are learning the exact equipment they will run on the JBM floor. The specificity is what allows graduates to be hired as technicians rather than entry-level operators. The legal landscape continues to favor inclusive practices. Ban-the-box laws now cover the majority of U.S. workers across more than 35 states, and [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission](https://www.eeoc.gov/) guidance limits how employers can use criminal history in hiring decisions. The compliance frame is no longer optional. The companies that understand this are converting it into a recruiting moat. ## How other employers can replicate JBM's playbook JBM is a 162-person company. Its program is reproducible at virtually any scale, and the sequencing matters more than the budget. Start with policy, not partnerships. Audit your existing application, background check process, and adjudication matrix. Most exclusionary practices are accidental, written into job descriptions or recruiter scripts long before anyone made a deliberate choice. Adopting the SHRM Foundation pledge and rewriting application questions to defer background checks until after a conditional offer is the cheapest, fastest first move and the one with the largest immediate effect on candidate flow. Build a wraparound layer before scaling hires. JBM's change coach is the single most cited reason the program retains workers. A part-time case manager, a partnership with a local reentry nonprofit, or a contract with a workforce agency can replicate the function for a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire. The point is to ensure that the predictable early-tenure crises around housing, transportation, and family reintegration have a structured response rather than landing on an unprepared front-line manager. Pick a job category and go deep. JBM did not try to fair-chance hire across every role at once. It targeted machine adjuster, built training around that specific job, and let success in one category fund expansion into others. Manufacturing, logistics, food service, construction, and skilled trades are the most common entry points because they reward demonstrable skill over credentials. Consider in-prison training only when the volume justifies it. JBM's London Correctional partnership is significant infrastructure: equipment, instructors, security clearances, and a multi-year commitment. It works because the company plans to hire dozens of graduates over time. Smaller employers can achieve similar outcomes by partnering with existing prison vocational programs, community college reentry tracks, or workforce intermediaries that already run the pipeline. Track the right metrics from day one. Retention at 30, 90, 180, and 365 days. Time-to-productivity. Internal promotion rate. Avoidable turnover cost. Disciplinary action rates. The data is what will protect the program when leadership turns over or budgets tighten. JBM has nine years of data showing fair-chance hires meet or beat their peers, which is why the program survived multiple business cycles intact. The tightest manufacturing labor market in a generation is sitting next to a talent pool of more than 600,000 people released from U.S. prisons each year, [nearly 75 percent of whom remain unemployed](https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR266.html) a full year after release. The arithmetic is obvious. The companies that solve the operational and cultural piece first, the way JBM has, get to write the recruiting playbook for the next decade. ## People Also Asked **Q:** What is fair-chance or second-chance hiring? **A:** Fair-chance hiring is the practice of evaluating candidates with criminal histories on their qualifications and potential rather than screening them out at the application stage. It typically includes deferring background checks until after a conditional offer, individualized assessments of any record, and structured support during onboarding to help workers succeed in their first year. **Q:** Do second-chance hires actually stay longer than other workers? **A:** Yes, in most reported programs. Industry data cited by JBM and peers like Nehemiah Manufacturing shows turnover rates of 15 percent or lower for fair-chance hires compared to roughly 40 percent for the manufacturing sector overall. The combination of structured support and the value workers place on a real opportunity drives significantly longer tenure. **Q:** What tax credits or incentives are available for hiring people with criminal records in 2026? **A:** The federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit historically offered up to $2.4K per qualified ex-felon hire but entered a legislative hiatus on January 1, 2026 pending reauthorization. State-level credits, federal bonding programs, and reentry partnership grants remain active, and the long-term retention savings often exceed the value of the federal credit on their own. --- ## Related articles - [National Apprenticeship Week 2026: Where to Apply](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/national-apprenticeship-week-2026-where-to-apply) - [Canada's $25B Sovereign Wealth Fund and Domestic Jobs in 2026](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/canada-25b-sovereign-wealth-fund-domestic-jobs-2026) - [DR Congo Mining Guard: $100M Critical Minerals Jobs](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/dr-congo-mining-guard-100m-critical-minerals-jobs) - [The Hiring Seduction Era: Recruiters Woo Candidates in 2026](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/hiring-seduction-era-recruiters-woo-candidates-2026) - [Workers Take Half-Salary Pay Cut Trend in 2026](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/workers-half-salary-pay-cut-trend-2026) - [Doomjobbing 2026: The Job Hunt Burnout Loop](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/doomjobbing-2026-job-hunt-burnout-loop) - [Silent Firing 2026: The Managed-Out Playbook](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/silent-firing-2026-managed-out-playbook) - [Mark Cuban, Humana, and Employer Drug Bills in 2026](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/mark-cuban-humana-employer-drug-bills-2026) - [UK NEET Rate: Third Highest in Europe in 2026](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/uk-neet-rate-third-highest-europe-2026) - [Disney CEO Cuts 1,000 Streaming Jobs on Day One](https://www.metaintro.com/blog/disney-ceo-cuts-1000-streaming-jobs-day-one) --- ## Ready to explore? The strongest workforce strategies in 2026 reward employers who look beyond the obvious applicant pool. If you are a job seeker rebuilding after a setback, or an employer ready to broaden your hiring pipeline, [Metaintro](https://www.metaintro.com) connects you with companies that hire on skill and potential rather than label. 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