The 14th Annual NCSL Re-Entry Conference and Job Fair for the Formerly Incarcerated will be held on Wednesday, September 9, 2009, from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, in the State Building in downtown San Francisco. If it's like last year, over 400 ex-offenders will be there.

Guest speakers will include ex-offenders who have successfully made the transition from incarceration to employment.

A total of 28 employers and social service agencies were on board for last year's job fair.

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Mayor Gavin Newsom was the featured speaker at our 2006 Job Fair, and he brought the crowd to their feet with many positive responses to his words of support. The enthusiasm and motivation were electric. Two ex-offenders, both 1999 NCSL Awakening New Futures Work Readiness Training graduates, told their personal stories of entering the world of work as living, breathing examples of successful transitions.

We also heard last year from motivational speaker Kevin Grant, who gave us the lowdown on "Finding Work and Keeping Work Through the Distractions."

NCSL sponsored the first-ever Job Fair for Ex-Offenders in San Francisco, in 1996.   It was so successful in matching employers and ex-offenders, that NCSL Job Fairs have become an annual event.  Recognized in the New York Times and Staffing Management Magazine, this popular employment conference has been duplicated in Texas, Ohio, Massachusetts, North Carolina and elsewhere as a unique concept in creating employment opportunities for the ex-offender.

These pace-setting Fairs are designed to give ex-offenders, local employers, and criminal justice professionals the opportunity to network, to share ideas, and to develop strategies for successful transition to employment.

 It's thrilling to see the enthusiasm and the relief as the success of the ex-offender becomes an accepted possibility and then... a reality!