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About Hire
IDOC
HIRE Connects Indiana Businesses with Loyal, Highly Skilled Candidates Ready to Contribute and Grow
HIRE focuses on providing Hoosiers with full-time jobs, with benefits and livable wages, while also creating a pipeline of skilled workers to help Indiana businesses fill their employment needs.
The HIRE program works with employers to understand their business needs and to determine the knowledge, skills, abilities, and aptitude that will make an employee successful in their organization. Participants are placed in several diverse types of industries based on their skills and interests, including production, restaurant, warehouse, and construction.
Hiring a client with a criminal history also benefits the employer. HIRE clients are taught the importance of being dependable and punctual, and the turnover rate is typically low because they are loyal to those who have given them a second chance. Employers that participate in the HIRE program may also be eligible for tax credits or additional programs.
In 2018, HIRE received the NASWA State Excellence Award for having the best model for a successful State Workforce Program.
Partner with Purpose: Help Build a Skilled Workforce
Screening: Finding the Right Fit
HIRE gets to know each candidate beyond just their resume. We find out the skills and qualities that will achieve success for your organization. Qualifying candidates go through a screening process for motivation, behavioral skills, and workplace aptitude.
🟢🟡🔴 HIRE Traffic Light Referral System
To help businesses understand candidate readiness, we use a structured referral system:
- Green Light: Comfortable Referral with Open Dialogue About Skills and Client History
- Yellow Light: Referral with Caveats of Shortcomings or Challenges Along with Client History
- Red Light: No referral to Business Unless Otherwise Requested in First Business Contact
📥 Download the HIRE Client Referral System Flyer to see how candidates are categorized based on their engagement, work history, and employability.
Follow-Up: Ensuring Long-Term Success
HIRE’s commitment to the business and the client do not end at a successful placement. We will provide follow-up at key intervals to ensure that each placement achieves the maximum success. Key performance metric include Customer Satisfaction, Employee Retention, and Employee Performance.
Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)
The WOTC reduces an employer’s cost of doing business and requires little paperwork. The success and growth of this income tax credit for private-sector businesses depends on a strong public and private-sector partnership. Helping those in need find and retain good jobs and gain on-the-job experience benefits all employers and increases America’s economic growth and productivity.
- Target Groups
Target Groups
- Long-term and short-term TANF recipient
- Veterans (Disabled, Unemployed, and/or Food Stamp (SNAP) recipient)
- Age 18-39 for Food Stamp (SNAP) recipient and Designated Community Resident (Perry County)
- Vocational Rehabilitation Referral, SSI Recipient and Ticket to Work Holder
- Long term unemployed
- Ex-Felon: individual convicted of a felony and hired within one year after the date of the conviction or release from prison
- How to Figure the WOTC
How to Figure the WOTC
The WOTC has a max range of $2,400 to $9,600. It is based on qualified wages paid to the new hire for the first year of employment. Generally, qualified wages are capped at $6,000. The credit is 25% of qualified first year wages for those employed at least 120 hours and 40% for those employed 400 hours or more.
The Bottom Line:
- Employers make the hiring decision
- There is no limit to the number of new hires who can qualify the employer for the tax savings
- There is minimal paperwork needed to claim the WOTC
- How to Apply
How to Apply
Complete IRS Form 8850, Pre-Screening Notice and Certification Request for the WOTC, by the date of the job offer and complete one of the following U.S. Department of Labor Forms:
- ETA Form 9061, Individual Characteristics Form, if the new hire has not been given an ETA Form 9062; or
- ETA Form 9062, Conditional Certification Form, if provided to the job seeker by a Participating Agency, a State Workforce Agency or a Vocational Rehabilitation Agency
Contact your local HIRE Representative or visit Indiana’s Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) web page
Federal Bonding
- Employer Benefits
Employer Benefits
- No cost
- The bond coverage is in effect the day the new employee begins working and lasts for six months
- Coverage lasts for 6 months; helps alleviate risk for second chance clients
- The bond has no deductible and reimburses the employer for any loss due to employee theft within the specified six-month period
- Who Qualifies for Bonding
Who Qualifies for Bonding
Individuals who are not typically able to be commercially bonded, due to questionable behavior in the past, may qualify to be bonded federally. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Ex-offenders, including anyone with a record of arrest, conviction or imprisonment
- Those with a poor financial credit history or who have declared bankruptcy
- Ex-addicts with history of alcohol or drug abuse
- Those who have been dishonorably discharged from the Armed Forces
- Persons lacking a work history from low-income families
- Job Requirements
Job Requirements
- The employer must have a specific date set for the applicant to begin work
- The applicant must be of legal working age
- Federal taxes must be automatically deducted from the check
- Ensure that the job is suitable for the applicant
- Self-employed and/or franchised individuals are not eligible
- Coverage Amounts
Coverage Amounts
- Bonds are issued in increments of $5,000 for a period of six months. The maximum amount is $25,000; but $5,000 is generally sufficient to cover most circumstances
- Coverage is based on the potential or estimated risk to the employer for financial loss in one event
- Bond Information
Bond Information
- Bonds can be issued to any employer regardless of whether the company has or has not commercially purchased a Fidelity Bond
- Specific coverage includes theft, forgery, larceny or embezzlement. Bonds do not provide coverage for situations due to poor workmanship, job injuries or work accidents
- It is not a bail bond, court bond, contract bond, performance bond, name bond, blanket bond or license bond
- Bonds are not transferable from one employer to another
- Bonding Process
Bonding Process
The process is simple and quick:
- A letter will be sent which will include the name of the job seeker for whom the bond is being issued, bond effective date, amount and period of coverage, etc.
Contact your local HIRE Representative or visit Indiana’s Federal Bonding web page
Indiana Department of Correction