EX-OFFENDERS DESERVE A 2ND CHANCE - BAN THE BOX

EX-OFFENDERS DESERVE A 2ND CHANCE - BAN THE BOX:

HOW CAN MEN PAY CHILD SUPPORT & BE FATHERS IF THEY CAN'T GET JOBS??

Granting Ex-Offenders a second chance in life by Hiring them to WORK and Expunging their Criminal Records, is good for America's economy.

Assisting Ex-Offenders to become gainfully EMPLOYED reduces Recidivism and Crime.

It will also help to rebuild Communities destroyed by Incarcerated Men who are FATHERS because those Men who are FATHERS will be given OPPORTUNITIES to Pay CHILD SUPPORT and actively engage in the lives of their Children.

~ BAN THE BOX: U.S. CITIES, COUNTIES, AND STATES ADOPT FAIR HIRING POLICIES:

Nationwide, over 100 cities and counties have adopted what is widely known as “ban the box” so that employers consider a job candidate’s qualifications first, without the stigma of a conviction record. 

These initiatives provide applicants a fair chance by removing the conviction history question on the job application and delaying the background check inquiry until later in the hiring.

Momentum for the policy has grown exponentially, particularly in recent years.

There are a total of 19 states representing nearly every region of the country that have adopted the policies —California (2013, 2010), Colorado (2012), Connecticut (2010), Delaware (2014), Georgia (2015), Hawaii (1998), Illinois (2014, 2013), Maryland (2013), Massachusetts (2010), Minnesota (2013, 2009), Nebraska (2014), New Jersey (2014), New Mexico (2010), New York (2015), Ohio (2015), Oregon (2015), Rhode Island (2013), Vermont (2015), and Virginia (2015).

Seven states—Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon and Rhode Island—have removed the conviction history question on job applications for private employers, which advocates embrace as the next step in the evolution of these policies.

Federally, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) endorsed removing the conviction question from the job application as a best practice in its 2012 guidance making clear that federal civil rights laws regulate employment decisions based on arrests and convictions.

The Obama Administration’s My Brother’s Keeper Task Force also gave the movement a boost when it endorsed hiring practices “which give applicants a fair chance and allows employers the opportunity to judge individual job candidates on their merits.”

Fair-chance policies benefit everyone because they’re good for families and the local community.

At a recent event in Oakland for employers to discuss reentry issues, one business owner spoke to the personal benefit he finds from hiring people with records. “I’ve seen how a job makes all the difference,” says Derreck B. Johnson, founder and president of Home of Chicken and Waffles in Oakland. “When I give someone a chance and he becomes my best employee, I know that I’m doing right by my community.”

This resource guide documents the states, Washington D.C., and the over 100 cities and counties—that have taken steps to remove barriers to employment for qualified workers with records. Seven states, Washington D.C., and 27 cities and counties now extend the fair-chance policy to government contractors or private employers.

Of the localities, Baltimore, Buffalo, Chicago, Columbia (MO), Montgomery County (MD), New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Portland (OR), Prince George’s County (MD), Rochester, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C. extend their fair-chance laws to private employers in the area.

A chart summarizing all the policies is at the end of this guide.

To support your state and local efforts to enact a fair-chance policy, check out NELP’s Fair Chance – Ban the Box Toolkit, which provides a step-by-step guide for advocates on how to launch a “ban the box” campaign.

Embedded in the Toolkit is a range of resources to draft a law, to build your network, to support your outreach, and even to develop your media outreach.

Post Sources: NELP, YouTube