Oct. 9--With unemployment in California at its highest rate since 1940, the men who filed into the recreation yard Thursday at the Todd Road Jail outside Santa Paula might have seemed like unlikely prospects for local employers.

Dressed in blue jail uniforms and orange shirts, many of the inmates were repeat offenders. But for the Ventura County Sheriff's Department, helping them find work is one way to keep them from returning and fight a jail overcrowding problem looming large during the current budget crunch.

On Thursday, the department held the county's first-ever jail job fair for 75 inmates.

"This job fair is one piece of a strategy that's trying to decrease our population and create more bed space," said sheriff's Cmdr. Brent Morris, who is responsible for the Todd Road Jail.

As the event began Thursday morning, Morris told 42 representatives of local companies, government agencies and community organizations that while authorities would love to find work for all the inmates, they know that might not be possible.

An average of 300 inmates are housed daily in beds set up in common areas outside cells in the county's jails, and officials expect the overcrowding to get worse in several months if the state ultimately follows a court order to release 40,000 prison inmates, Morris said. As many as 1,500 parolees could return early to Ventura County, he said.

About 70 percent of inmates end up returning to jail, and with local jail expansion plans on hold because of the county's budget woes, officials hope to keep at least a few more out of the system after their release, Morris said.

People with jobs "have a stake in the community, and we know that a person with a stake in the community is less likely to reoffend," Morris said.

It costs an average of $126 a day to house an inmate in county jail, he said.

For their first jail job fair, officials said, they selected inmates who demonstrated a genuine desire to turn their lives around. The 75 chosen had participated in jail programs such as vocational education and drug counseling and had exemplary behavior records, officials said.

Many were serving time or awaiting trial for nonviolent crimes such as possessing stolen property, driving under the influence or drug possession.

During the fair, each inmate had about 40 minutes to talk to potential employers and another 40 minutes to chat with representatives of service providers, such as the county Human Services Agency and Narcotics Anonymous. Several representatives said the inmates made good eye contact and were courteous.

One inmate, Robert Sheveland, said he was surprised by the positive responses and respect he got from the employers. He's serving time in jail after pleading guilty to misdemeanors including possessing stolen property and second-degree burglary, jail records show.

Sheveland, 24, of Newbury Park said he expected to be dismissed by the employers. "Instead they came with open hands," he said.

Sheveland said when he gets out of jail Nov. 22, he can return to a part-time job doing BMX bike stunts, but he's looking for something with more structure so he won't have time to get into trouble. He said he was grateful for the chance to meet with potential employers.

Employment, along with housing, is recognized by corrections experts as one of the most crucial elements in fighting recidivism, said Drew Carberry, director of re-entry initiatives for the National Crime Prevention Council.

"Most of the folks who work in re-entry will tell you that for males, the job is the thing that stabilizes them and puts them on the right path," Carberry said.

Some correctional institutions, such as the Federal Bureau of Prisons, offer mock job fairs to prepare inmates for the outside world, but few offer real events, he said.

Employers who hire former inmates can be eligible for thousands of dollars in tax credits.

Abigail Honorico, a program administrator at Todd Road, estimated that half of the 13 employers at the job fair had positions to potentially offer the inmates in the near future. Some of those lacking positions said openings were scarce because of the economy, but they would consider former inmates later.

Some, such as Goodwill, Labor Ready and Hughes General Engineering Construction, already had experience employing convicts.

Jeff Hughes, president of the Camarillo construction business, said he had one or two positions he might fill with candidates from the job fair. He said former inmates can be good employees because they have extra incentive to succeed. Hiring them is also good for the community. "We need to get these guys some work," he said.

Jack Doughty, a representative of Green Thumb International, said "everyone deserves a second chance."

"Not giving the opportunity is detrimental to our society, I think. We have to show people there is a way out of their situation," Doughty said. Green Thumb, however, did not have any current openings.

Jacob Patellis, 33, of the San Fernando Valley, said the event left him with a positive feeling. Holding a book from Alcoholics Anonymous, Patellis said he was first arrested two years ago in Los Angeles on drug charges. He was booked into Ventura County jail two months ago on suspicion of charges including felony forgery and issuing a prescription.

Patellis said his addiction problems started after he was in New York City when it was attacked by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001. He lost his job and home and came to California because he had relatives here, he said.

As he prepared to leave the job fair, Patellis said it made him feel that "there is hope on the other side."

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