WASHINGTON -- Stephanie Harris' management and sales skills helped her earn $3,000 for just six or seven hours of work on a "good" day.
Over 10 years, Harris says, she earned about half a million dollars. But her job took away her freedom.
Harris was sentenced in 2007 to eight years in prison for selling heroin. Since she was a teen, Harris has been in and out of correctional institutions for various felony charges -- mostly for selling heroin and crack cocaine.
Christine Foote, with her long dusty-brown hair and black-rimmed glasses, looks as though she should be working in an office. And she had been working as an administrative assistant when she was sentenced to 10 years for stealing more than $68,000 from her employer, a Salisbury, Md., roofing company.
Foote and Harris are both about to be released on parole from the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women. The women have agreed to allow me to work with them to help manage their money. Over the next year, as part of my Color of Money Challenge, I'll be following the decisions these two need to make in order to strengthen their financial lives and hopefully prevent them from being incarcerated again.
In past challenges, I've helped individuals and families get their money straight. Last year, I worked with unemployed individuals. The year before, I helped several military families save and get out of more than $50,000 in debt.
I met the two inmates through the Prosperity Partners Financial Freedom Program. It's a volunteer outreach effort of a financial mentoring program I direct at First Baptist Church of Glenarden, Md.
In partnership with several other organizations -- Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Maryland and the District of Columbia, the IRS' Taxpayer Advocate Service, Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service, and Maryland Correctional Enterprises (MCE) -- we visit inmates to review their credit reports and conduct workshops to teach them how to better manage their money or resolve any tax issues they may have.
I have no doubt this year's challenge will be tough. As a five-time convicted felon, Harris will have to trade her lucrative drug-hustling skills for a low-wage street-cleaning job.
Working her way up from a "hitter," or the person who hands the drugs to buyers, to an "overseer," Harris said she managed four people making thousands of dollars a day. She says all the money was spent on clothes, household expenses and stuff she can't even remember.
"To a young person, it's a lifestyle that will intrigue you," she said sitting in a classroom at the prison. "It was like a real company. I got management experience."
Now she intends to hustle, legally.
"The same drive I used to maintain my empire is the same drive I'm going to use to work productively," Harris said. "I know I can make it this time."
Foote, on the other hand, is moving back to a small community with limited employment opportunities. She'll live with her parents until she can afford to live on her own.
Finding a job is obviously one of the biggest struggles for people coming out of the criminal justice system. Under the best economic conditions, ex-offenders face substantial barriers to many types of legal employment. They, like many others, have credit histories riddled with problems, past-due debts and, in many cases, civil judgments just waiting for them to find work so their paychecks can be garnisheed.
And if ex-offenders can't find work, the likelihood of them returning to a life of crime is high.
"It would be nice to get them into a job as opposed to releasing them into the same atmosphere, in the same unemployment situation as before," said J. Michael Stouffer, Maryland's commissioner of correction.
Foote, however, has a better chance than most ex-offenders of finding a job. She has been working with MCE, which provides pre-release training through a number of business units located in the state's major prisons. Last year, MCE employed 2,000 inmate workers. Those who work for MCE have lower recidivism rates in comparison with the general prison population, according to Stephen M. Shiloh, chief executive of MCE.
Foote has been doing data-entry work with statistical information from various state agencies.
"Our main focus is to give inmates work skills and a work ethic to help enhance their employability," Shiloh said.
Although she doesn't have a steady job lined up, Foote is hopeful she will find full-time employment.
"If someone gives me a shot, I'll do a good job," she said. "I'll show them I'm worth the risk."
People with a conviction in their past often turn out to be exemplary workers, says Rhonda Gaines, who is a work force development specialist for MCE.
Gaines is working with Foote, trying to find her a job.
"While others may take having a job for granted, someone like Christine or Stephanie will have great appreciation for being a part of society, and being truly self-sufficient," Gaines said. "Especially if they learn from you what to do with the money once they have earned it."
Christine Foote
Age: 33
Background: Foote grew up in a middle-income family in Wicomico County, Md. She has a 14-year-old daughter, Samantha.
She has an associate of applied science degree in business management from Wor-Wic Community College in Salisbury, Md., and was pursuing a bachelor's degree at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
Foote says she had a good, stable childhood. She attributes her criminal trouble to wanting to be on her own too soon and hooking up with the wrong men, which often led to physically abusive relationships. "I'm not blaming the men because I could have made better decisions," she says. "It took me going to prison to look at everything that I do."
Criminal History: In 2007, Foote was sentenced to 10 years for felony theft. She was convicted of stealing more than $68,000 from her employer, a roofing company in Salisbury. She had been working as an administrative assistant.
Foote has had a few run-ins with the law, including a conviction for submitting a false insurance claim, which is under appeal. She is scheduled to be released on parole this month.
The Plan: Foote has been doing statistical data entry as part of a job-training program.
It's been difficult trying to find a job for her, especially in this economy. To help earn some money, Foote will be selling products for Pure Romance, an in-home direct sales company. She estimates she can earn a minimum $250 in commissions for each party she sets up. Her goal is to plan two to three parties a week.
"I want to find something else, a 40-hour-a-week job with benefits," she said.
Stephanie Harris
Age: 27
Background: Harris was raised in a middle-income home with parents who expected her to do well.
"I had a great childhood with family values," she said. "When the street lights came on, we couldn't leave the alley behind our house."
Harris, who said she was an honor student, longed to hang out in the streets. "I wanted to see what was around the corner," she said.
Around the corner were friends who were breaking the law, robbing people and selling drugs. It was an exciting life that Harris said she couldn't resist. The Baltimore native dropped out of school in the 11th grade.
Her work experience mostly consists of selling drugs.
Criminal History: Convicted in 2007 for eight years on two counts of possession of heroin. She's a five-time felon, having served on various charges including armed robbery, drug possession and the distribution of heroin and crack cocaine. She will be released soon on parole.
The Plan: If repeat offender Harris doesn't change her ways, she could end up spending several decades in prison if convicted again. This time, Harris says she's determined not to go back to a life of crime in order to support herself and her young son, Stephon, 3.
"It's different for me this time because I have a son," she said. "I know if I get locked up again, that's a wrap."
Harris is banking on landing a job with the nonprofit Downtown Partnership of Baltimore. She would be as a "clean sweep ambassador" in the city's downtown area. Most of the workers on the cleaning crew are ex-offenders, recovering addicts or homeless individuals.
"She's at the top of the list," said Michael Evitts, communications director for the partnership. "As soon as we have an opening, she's the first person who will get a call."
The entry-level job pays $7.25 an hour and comes with benefits, including health insurance, a dental plan and a 401(k) retirement plan with an employer match.
"It's literally a dirty job but the benefit is not in the work itself but in the job training experience," Evitts said. "We've seen the value of second, third and fourth chances. We have proof that people can change. It's not always a smooth process and it doesn't always work out, but you have to try."
This time, Harris says she's content to work an hourly wage job and learn to live on her legal income.
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