Tag: CSI

We are pleased to publish a description of the Clean Slate Initiative we invited from its newly installed Managing Director. The Clean Slate Initiative: Working to Ensure A Criminal Record is Not a Life Sentence to Poverty By Sheena Meade* As our nation responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is an imperative that lawmakers enact policies that include the tens of millions of justice-involved people and their families— already facing economic vulnerability from the stigma of a criminal record. One in three Americans, 70 million people, have some type of criminal record, and these records can create lifelong barriers to opportunity for them and their families.  Nearly 9 in 10 employers, 4 in 5 landlords, and 3 in 5 colleges are now using background checks. Any record—no matter how old or minor—can put employment, housing, education, and other basics permanently out of reach.  This harm is generational: Nearly half of children have at least one parent with a criminal record, resulting in difficulty for their parents to secure stable employment, economic stability and housing — all of which lead to less educational opportunities and hindered cognitive development.  While most states allow people to petition for expungement or sealing of at…

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