Illinois to allow trained ex-offenders to apply for barbering and cosmetology licenses before they leave prison

By allowing offenders to submit applications for barbering licenses within six months before release from prison, Illinois will reduce wait times for licensing – and reduce the likelihood those ex-offenders will return to crime. But more reforms are needed.

Ex-offenders who’ve completed training in barbering and cosmetology while incarcerated will be able to apply for a license to work in the six months before their release from prison, thanks to a new change to Illinois licensing procedure agreed to by the Illinois Department of Corrections and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. This reform eliminates much of the waiting time these ex-offenders faced when they could only apply after release – allowing more former offenders to find work as soon as they complete their sentences.

This reform is a step toward easing the re-entry process for many former offenders, who would otherwise have to wait through a long application process after prison before being permitted to work as licensed barbers – assuming they succeed in obtaining barbering licenses, which the state can still deny altogether based on an applicant’s criminal record.

Long post-release delays in finding work can sink an ex-offender’s chances of supporting himself without resorting to illegal activities. Research by the Urban Institute shows that former offenders who find steady employment soon after release are less likely to return to crime.

There’s still more that needs to be done to ease the licensing processes for barbering and other occupations – both for former offenders and for anyone who wants to work in a licensed profession.

Illinois requires government permission to work for nearly 25 percent of its workforce – including barbers and cosmetologists. The Barber, Cosmetology, Esthetics, Hair Braiding, and Nail Technology Act of 1985 mandates not only a licensing exam and fees, but training at a barbering or cosmetology school for no fewer than 1,500 hours in a program lasting at least nine months. That’s before an applicant can even take the exam. Tuition at these schools can cost thousands of dollars, with prices sometimes topping $10,000 in major cities such as Chicago.

By contrast, 400 hours of classroom training are required to become a police officer in Illinois. It makes little sense that over three times as many classroom hours are required to cut hair.

In fact, it’s unclear how licensing barbers makes sense in the first place. Licensing in no way guarantees a quality haircut. Consumer review websites such as Yelp provide better forums in which to punish providers – through bad publicity and loss of business – for poor service. Other nations, such as the United Kingdom, leave barbers and hairdressers completely unlicensed and have yet to suffer public-health crises from unregulated barbering.

But even if licensing rules stay in place, upon completion of their sentences, ex-offenders should have the same right to work as anyone else. The only justification for continued legal disabilities such as occupational-licensing restrictions is in very narrow cases in which particular offenders may pose unique public-safety risks if employed, such as a sex offender working in a school. But the burden should always fall on the state to demonstrate that such a precaution is needed.

With reform, Illinois can help ease entry into the workforce for all residents, not just former offenders, while improving prices for consumers The fewer barriers the state imposes on work and employment, the easier it will be for residents to build careers in these fields. And without government-erected barriers to entry and competition, consumers will pay less for services.

Reforming occupational licensing won’t fix everything. But by continuing to remove barriers to work, Illinois will give former offenders a better chance at economic success – and staying away from crime.