GroupOne’s Executive Director Danny Davila provided his expertise to an educational meeting examining the possibilities of hiring employees with past arrests titled “Seizing Opportunities to Hire Talented Workers with Records” on January 12 at the offices of the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas.

Sponsored by the DFW Hospital Council Foundation and the United Way, the North Texas forum was an opportunity to examine the potential of hiring from a large pool of untapped, qualified workers—people overlooked simply because of a past arrest or conviction record. Such potential employees now make up nearly one in three U.S. adults.

Davila’s discussion provided local perspective and detailed how to navigate the Texas background check requirements.

The National Employment Law Project (NELP) and the Safer Foundation, with support provided by JPMorgan Chase, are partnering to engage healthcare employers around the country in a discussion about the opportunities to recruit and employ people with records. The initiative’s goal is to expand the pipeline of applicants seeking employment.

Featured speaker was Michele Sedney, senior director of central recruitment services with Johns Hopkins Health in Baltimore.