Mother-daughter entrepreneur duo, Teresa Hodge and Laurin Leonard are doing their part to tackle the problem a lot of ex-offenders have — getting a job.

People who have past criminal records find it harder to secure jobs, apply for academic financial aid, and even vote. R3 Score, a company founded by Hodge and Leonard, focuses on connecting qualified people with good opportunities via “a new criminal background check for a new world.”

According to Forbes, the Baltimore-based company’s initial aim was to provide a new way of hiring companies to assess the risk of formerly incarcerated people. However, since the spread of COVID-19, their business model has changed.

“From the moment the coronavirus hit, we recognized we could no longer rely on the goodwill of businesses,” Hodge told Forbes. “They weren’t in a place where they wanted to be more inclusive and considerate of individuals who had conviction records.”

R3 Score’s new model empowers potential hires rather than targeting hiring businesses by offering a subscription-based platform that formerly incarcerated people can access.

“We needed to get this tool into their hands, tell them how to use it and change our entire strategy,” Hodge told Forbes.

According to Forbes, the company is looking to invest in new technologies that will make their transition to a new business model run more smoothly. One such technological possibility is a chatbot that would allow users a more user-friendly experience and a section on how users could potentially use an R3 Score.

The company also wants its subscription-based platform to be free for users through donations from philanthropists and investors.

Click here for more information about the R3 Score.

r3 score

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