Author: CCRC Staff

Editorial staff of the Collateral Consequences Resource Center

Making the research case for hiring people with a conviction record

To persuade employers and policymakers to make fact-based decisions on hiring people who have been involved with the criminal justice system, they need the research facts presented in an accessible way. A new, short, sharable publication from Dr. Shawn Bushway at RAND explodes many of the myths about people with a conviction record that keep them from getting hired. Using plain language for hiring managers, it lays out the deep body of research that can help them make better decisions. The research brief “Resetting the Record: The Facts on Hiring People With Criminal Histories” is designed to help overcome fear-based…

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“Advancing Second Chances: Clean Slate and Other Record Reforms in 2023”

At the beginning of each year since 2016, CCRC has issued a report on legislative enactments in the year just ended, describing and evaluating new laws aimed at reducing the barriers faced by people with a criminal record in the workplace, at the ballot box, and in many other areas of daily life. This year’s report, “Advancing Second Chances: Clean Slate and Other Record Reforms in 2023,” is now available. Our annual legislative reports have documented the steady progress of what we characterized three years ago as “a full-fledged law reform movement” aimed at restoring rights and dignity to individuals…

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Round-up of 2023 record-clearing laws

In a year that saw fewer criminal record reforms enacted than in the recent past, six states plus the District of Columbia took significant steps to expand their sealing and expungement laws. Minnesota, New York, and the District of Columbia enacted the most ambitious record-clearing schemes, expanding eligibility for relief while also making some relief automatic for the first time. Louisiana continued to resist a full “clean slate” approach, but established an automated application system that should make it easier for individuals to seek expungement once the legislature reduces the sky-high statutory application fee. Like Louisiana, Maryland significantly improved its…

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A New Year’s wish: New life for the pardon power!

As the first post of 2024, we are highlighting a great article by Matt Stout of the Boston Globe about how Massachusetts Governor Healey and other governors across the country are reviving their pardon power after years of neglect: “Clemency was a political third rail for decades. Healey and other governors are starting to embrace it.”

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Many States Still Deny SNAP and TANF Benefits to People with a Drug Felony, According to a New Report

        FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 6, 2023 Media Contact: Nick Sibilla nick@ccresourcecenter.org David Hebert dhebert@arnoldventures.org Many States Still Deny SNAP and TANF Benefits to People with a Drug Felony, According to a New Report Washington, D.C. — Almost half the states still exclude thousands of Americans with a drug felony in their past from receiving essential public benefits, according to a new nationwide study released today by the Collateral Consequences Resource Center (CCRC) with support from Arnold Ventures. A provision in President Bill Clinton’s 1996 welfare reform law imposed a lifetime ban on eligibility for the Supplemental…

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