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JustLeadershipUSA's
2021-2024 Roadmap

This roadmap is the first to be informed by the expertise of our growing, nationwide network of directly impacted leaders, grassroots organizations, and institutional knowledge of the inner operations of governmental entities.

JustLeadershipLUSA believes that there are bold, positive actions at the federal level that can be taken, relatively rapidly, that can unlock access to the basic human needs for the 70 million individuals living in communities across the United States with a criminal history, and provide pathways to opportunities for those currently incarcerated.

The recommendations in JLUSA 2021 Roadmap — the first of its kind — are informed by the organization’s growing nationwide network of formerly incarcerated leaders. While many advocacy organizations are making recommendations to the new Administration and Congress to create a more fair, humane, and just criminal justice system, these recommendations are unique. They reflect the experiences and expertise of those who have been directly impacted.

These recommendations provide solutions in four ways: through immediate presidential Executive Actions; reform of Administrative Rules and Regulations; and Legislative Recommendations that will require more time and effort. Finally, the removal of the devastating clause of the Thirteenth Amendment that still permits legal slavery behind bars, and ending voter suppression will be multi-year, requiring Constitutional Reforms involving both Congress and the state legislatures.

Let’s be clear: Systems of oppression are durable, and often respond with new forms of oppression.  Advancing justice is not simply about enacting legislative changes, shaping policy decisions, or tallying rights won; it is also about holding fast to the idea that freedom comes only when all of us are free, and working together to create the more just and equitable world that we all want to see.

Short Term
Executive Orders & Actions

Revitalization of an expanded version of the Justice Department’s Federal Interagency Reentry Council

Following President Barack Obama’s direction, former Attorney General Eric Holder convened the Federal Interagency Reentry Council in 2011, explaining, “We must use every tool at our disposal to tear down the unnecessary barriers to economic opportunities and independence so that formerly incarcerated individuals can serve as productive members of their communities.”1 The Council reflected an intersectional approach to reentry and brought together 20 federal agencies including the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development as well as the Departments of Interior, Agriculture, Education, Veterans Affairs, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Among its achievements were the launching of National Reentry Week2, the issuance of guidelines to clarify that arrest records may not be used to determine who can live in HUD-assisted properties3, and the Fair Chance Higher Education Pledge4 to encourage postsecondary institutions to adopt admissions policies that encouraged people with criminal histories to apply for admission. In 2018 Former President Trump revoked the presidential memorandum that established the Council and replaced it with the Federal Interagency Council on Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry.5 Although its stated goals were similar, reentry was not a priority for the past Administration and little progress was made.

1 https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-holder-convenes-federal-reentry-council
2 https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/blog/national-reentry-week
3 https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/HUD_OGCGUIDAPPFHASTANDCR.PDF
4 https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/06/10/fact-sheet-white-house-launches-fair-chance-higher-education-pledge
5 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/03/12/2018-05113/federal-interagency-council-on-crime-prevention-and-improving-reentry

Revitalization of an expanded version of the Justice Department’s Federal Interagency Reentry Council
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Appointment of a directly impacted individual as the Criminal Justice/Reentry Czar to serve in the White House Domestic Policy Council and lead the Interagency Reentry Council

Our organization’s mantra is, “those closest to the problem are closest to the solution, but furthest from resources and power.” By appointing a directly impacted person to a position of influence and authority, the President will acknowledge, in a very public way, the unique policy expertise of those who have been “through the system.” This country’s prisons function as closed systems with little transparency and accountability to the broader public.  Intense stigma has led to the discriminatory treatment, much of it hidden from public view that formerly incarcerated people face upon reentering society.  Only someone who has experienced the transition from incarceration to freedom can know about the many conditions of confinement detrimental to rehabilitation and the many insidious barriers people face upon reentry.

Appointment of a directly impacted individual as the Criminal Justice/Reentry Czar to serve in the White House Domestic Policy Council and lead the Interagency Reentry Council
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Order directing the use of humanizing language across all federal agencies

The use of terms such as “convict,” “felon,” “inmate,” and “offender” is dehumanizing and reduces people to the worst mistake they made. In 2007 Eddie Ellis, a formerly incarcerated leader and founder of the Center for NuLeadership, published his now famous “Open Letter to our Friends on the Question of Language.” He wrote, “In an effort to assist our transition from prison to our communities as responsible citizens and to create a more positive human image of ourselves, we are asking everyone to stop using these negative terms and to simply refer to us as PEOPLE. People currently or formerly incarcerated, PEOPLE on parole, PEOPLE recently released from prison, PEOPLE in prison, PEOPLE with criminal convictions, but PEOPLE.”1 In May 2016, Assistant Attorney General Karol Mason who headed the Office of Justice Programs issued an agency wide policy directing Justice Department employees to “replace unnecessarily disparaging language with terms like ‘person who committed a crime’ and ‘individual who was incarcerated.’” In an op-ed in The Washington Post, Mason, who is currently the President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, wrote: “The people who leave our correctional facilities every year have paid their debts. They deserve a chance to rebuild their lives. We, all of us, can help them by dispensing with useless and demeaning labels that freeze people in a single moment of time.”2 A similar presidential directive to all federal agencies would signal the importance of language in reducing stigma.

1 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58eb0522e6f2e1dfce591dee/t/596e13f48419c2e5a0e95d30/1500386295291/CNUS-language-letter-2016.pdf

2 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2016/05/04/guest-post-justice-dept-to-alter-its-terminology-for-released-convicts-to-ease-reentry/

Order directing the use of humanizing language across all federal agencies
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Public awareness campaign

In order to challenge the negative stereotypes about directly impacted people, the White House can launch a public awareness campaign that emphasizes their contributions to their communities and to American society at large. Formerly incarcerated men and women are in the forefront of numerous efforts to both change policy and provide much needed services.1  They have established not-for-profit reentry programs using their expertise to develop and offer services returning citizens need to transition to life on the outside. They head grassroots organizations dedicated to ending mass incarceration.2  They engage in myriad public education programs, speaking at conferences held by civic, faith and educational groups, publishing op-eds, and participating actively in policy debates through social media. But a government-funded and sponsored campaign highlighting their achievements would go a long way towards reducing stigma and winning public support for change.  Obama-era programs such as the White House Champions of Change3 and the Fair Chance Business Pledge4 can be revived and serve as vehicles for the campaign.

1 https://jlusa.org/leadership/#connect-with-leaders
2 https://ficpfm.org/
3 https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/champions

4 https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/issues/criminal-justice/fair-chance-pledge

Public awareness campaign
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Reconstitute the Office for Access to Justice

In 2010, Attorney General Eric Holder implemented President Obama’s call to increase access to justice as an initiative within the Office of the Associate Attorney General. The initiative’s mission was to help the justice system efficiently deliver outcomes that were fair and accessible to all, irrespective of wealth and status, responding to the pressing need to reform the civil justice system in the U.S., which covered critical matters such as housing rights and family law. In 2015, the initiative was formally established as a stand-alone component of the Justice Department and renamed the Office for Access to Justice (ATJ).1 That same year, President Barack Obama signed a presidential memorandum elevating the ATJ’s successful Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable (LAIR) to a White House initiative and called on federal agencies to work together to help the most vulnerable and underserved people by recognizing the importance of legal services to their programs, and the ATJ facilitated impactful strategic partnerships throughout the government.2 Former President Trump shuttered the ATJ and rolled back its achievements. In light of the current pandemic and economic crisis, the ATJ is more important than ever.

Progress Update
The U.S. Department of Justice reestablished the Office for Access to Justice (ATJ) as a standalone agency in October 2021 to address the access-to-justice crisis in the criminal and civil justice system.
Source: https://justice.gov/atj


1 https://www.justice.gov/archives/atj

2 https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/courts/news/2020/11/24/493195/need-rebuild-doj-office-access-justice/#:~:text=That%20same%20year%2C%20President%20Barack,importance%20of%20legal%20services%20to

Reconstitute the Office for Access to Justice Update
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Mid-Term
Administrative Reforms

Labor

Issue guidelines defining discriminatory hiring and posting practices and establishing processes for reporting violations

Despite improvements to discriminatory hiring practices such as “ban the box” laws nationally, racial discrimination in hiring, particularly for formerly incarcerated people, remains a barrier to their well-being, and is a clear violation of our values. Ban the box legislation does not deny employers access to a candidate’s criminal background, it only opens the door to potential racial discrimination further in the hiring prcoess. To give all applicants a fair chance at hiring, administrative reform must  be enacted to create guidelines to concisely define discriminatory hiring practices and establish rules and processes on how employers who discriminate against candidates can be reported, quickly and efficiently.

Progress Update

In 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released Federal workforce reports focused on workers with a history of arrest or conviction and in April 2024 filed suit against Sheetz, Inc. for discriminatory hiring practices based on the presence of a criminal conviction.

https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/eeoc-issues-federal-workforce-reports-focused-workers-history-arrest-or-conviction

https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/eeoc-sues-sheetz-inc-racially-discriminatory-hiring-practice

Issue guidelines defining discriminatory hiring and posting practices and establishing processes for reporting violations Update
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Remove discretion from Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funding that allows states to exclude directly impacted individuals from access to training opportunities

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act enables the country’s federal workforce development systems to provide workforce development programs to as many as 20 million Americans.1 This allows Americans without adequate workforce training to find jobs, start careers, care for their families and plan for their future. But formerly incarcerated people are often excluded from the benefits of these programs, solely because of their criminal record. The impact can be devastating and exacerbates unemployment among formerly incarcerated people, which is already more than 27 percent, higher than the U.S. unemployment rate during the Great Depression.2 The collateral consequences of a criminal conviction only serve to further marginalize formerly incarcerated people from society, dehumanizing them and jeopardizing their lives. Administrative reforms must be enacted that will ensure that directly impacted people are not left out of the workforce development opportunities that can help them receive much-needed employment training services.


1 https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/wioa/pdfs/WIOA_Factsheets.pdf

2 https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/outofwork.html

Remove discretion from Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funding that allows states to exclude directly impacted individuals from access to training opportunities
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Raise awareness about the availability of Work Opportunity Tax Credits for the hiring of directly impacted people

The Work Opportunity Tax Credit is federal tax credit available to employers who hire people who have consistently faced significant barriers to employment, including veterans, people receiving SNAP/TANF benefits and formerly incarcerated people. It incentivizes business owners to hire and train marginalized people, affording them the opportunities they deserve. In order to provide more opportunities for formerly incarcerated people in the workforce, administrative reform is needed to increase awareness of the tax credit to employers. The increased awareness will require government funding to effectively spread the campaign to businesses, and would go a long way to educate and inform business owners of the tax incentive opportunities in hiring formerly incarcerated people.

 

Progress Update

In April 2022, the Department of Labor announced new resources for justice-involved job seekers, reentry service providers, and employers to learn about existing federal reentry employment incentives including the Federal Bonding Program and the Work Opportunity Tax Credit.

Source

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/04/26/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-expands-second-chance-opportunities-for-formerly-incarcerated-persons/

Raise awareness about the availability of Work Opportunity Tax Credits for the hiring of directly impacted people Update
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Federal Bureau of Prisons

Emergency Preparedness

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, federal correctional facilities were already in a state of crisis. Despite the National Emergency declaration in March 2020 which included a mandate to decrease federal incarceration to stop the spread of the virus1, few people were released to home confinement and the virus quickly spread to incarcerated people and correctional officers alike. Many thousands were infected, and thousands have died.2 Similarly, people in prison have suffered extreme neglect during natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes.3 The denial of care and life-saving measures to the disproportionately Black and brown people in prison reflects the belief that they are disposable. This must end. JustLeadershipUSA’s #JustUS campaign has published a white paper entitled, “Components of Emergency Management Policy Recommendations” that describes the policies that should be adopted to protect and save lives.4


1 https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/nation/2020/04/21/coronavirus-updates-how-covid-19-unfolded-u-s-timeline/2990956001/

2 https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/05/01/a-state-by-state-look-at-coronavirus-in-prisons#prisoner-deaths
3 https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-report-details-horrors-suffered-orleans-parish-prisoners-wake-hurricane-katrina

4 https://jlusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/JustUS-Set-of-Policy-Recommendations.pdf

Progress Update

In the 118th Congress, the Correctional Facility Disaster Preparedness Act of 2023 was re-introduced by U.S Representatives Ted Lieu, Nancy Mace, Del. Norton and Senators Tammy Baldwin and Cory Booker. This legislation, as championed by JLUSA’s #JustUs Campaign, compliments the work of the Government Accountability Office and their 2022 review of emergency preparedness within the Bureau of Prisons. While steps toward additional measures were evidenced in this report, additional work remains to be done regarding streamlining reporting and accountability to ensure the health and safety of all.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/5279/text

https://www.gao.gov/assets/d22104289.pdf

Emergency Preparedness Update
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Abolition of Solitary Confinement

“Special housing units” (SHU) is the euphemism for solitary confinement in federal corrections facilities. Currently, over 8,000 people are held SHUs across the country representing just under seven percent of the federal prison population.1 People in solitary confinement have limited or no opportunity to interact with others. They eat, sleep, and use the toilet in the same area and have limited access to external stimuli, which is vital to human development. A large body of research shows that solitary confinement causes adverse psychological effects and increases the risk of serious harm to individuals who experience it. According to an article in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, isolation can be as distressing as physical torture.2 The United States has been strongly criticized for its over use of solitary confinement, most often for disciplinary infractions, by human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. It should be BOP policy to use solitary confinement only as a measure of last resort.

1 https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_shu.jsp#:~:text=Federal%20Bureau%20of%20Prisons&text=The%20data%20is%20updated%20on,%25)%20are%20housed%20in%20SHU
2 https://www.hrw.org/news/2010/03/01/solitary-confinement-and-mental-illness-us-prisons-challenge-medical-ethics

Progress Update

In 2023, Senate Bill 3409 and House Bill 4972 were introduced and titled the “End Solitary Confinement Act.” This legislation would end the use of solitary confinement and other forms of restrictive housing in all Federal agencies and entities with whom the Department contracts.

https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/ahead-of-u-s-senate-hearing-on-solitary-confinement-survivors-of-solitary-confinement-allies-rallied-to-urge-president-biden-and-congress-to-enact-the-end-solitary-confinement-act#:~:text=On%20the%20Provisions%20of%20the,involving%20imminent%20serious%20physical%20injury.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/4972/text?s=4&r=1&q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22end+solitary+confinement%22%7D

Abolition of Solitary Confinement Update
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Impose a Moratorium on Use of Risk Assessment Tools

The First Step Act, passed in December 2018, requires the Bureau of Prisons to use a “risk assessment tool” that purports to predict the risk of recidivism that a person poses if released. JLUSA and other formerly incarcerated peoples’ organizations opposed passage of the First Step Act largely because of our grave reservations about the fairness and accuracy of these tools. Risk assessments are pitched as “race-neutral,” replacing human judgment—subjective, fraught with implicit bias—with objective, scientific criteria. They were introduced to deal with inequitable sentencing due to judges’ biases, but they are simply replicating the same biases. These tools draw from existing criminal justice data and criminal justice is fraught with racial disparities and implicit bias. A large study conducted by the Center for Court Innovation concluded that “concerns over risk assessments perpetuating racial disparities are real—even when the assessment tool itself is deemed to be free of bias.” Until these tools can be shown not to produce inequitable results, they should not be used by the Bureau of Prisons.

Impose a Moratorium on Use of Risk Assessment Tools
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Expansion of Medical and Mental Healthcare

The COVID-19 crisis has exposed and exacerbated the chronic shortage of health care services in the federal prison system. People in prisons and jails are disproportionately likely to have chronic health problems including diabetes, high blood pressure, and HIV, as well as substance use and mental health problems. A recent survey1 of people in federal prison revealed that two-thirds said they had a drug or alcohol addiction.  An estimated 45 percent of federal prisoners have mental health and behavioral problems, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.2 Women are especially at risk, as facilities often lack gynecological and obstetric services. And, the growing number of elderly people in prison do not have access to appropriate gerontology services. Directly impacted people give prisons low grades when it comes to medical care. In a 2018 survey, 69 percent of respondents gave it a “poor” rating and only 3 percent chose “good.”3 It is vital that people in prison receive the medical care which they deserve and to which they are entitled by law.

Progress Update

In 2023, Congress introduced the Due Process Continuity of Care Act that would allow an individual who is in custody with pending charges to receive Medicaid benefits if their State opts in. This pending legislation compliments the introduction of the Reentry Act of 2023 (HR 2400/S 1165) which would standardize Medicaid eligibility for the final 30 days during a period of incarceration - each increasing access to Medicaid funding, standards, and services..

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced in 2023 a new Medicaid Reentry Section 1115 Demonstration Opportunity that allows state to apply for cover a package of pre-release services for up to 90 days prior to the individual’s expected release date that could not otherwise be covered by Medicaid due to a longstanding statutory exclusion that prohibits Medicaid payment for most services provided to most people in the care of a state or county carceral facility.

https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/hhs-releases-new-guidance-encourage-states-apply-new-medicaid-reentry-section-1115-demonstration

https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/reentry_act_of_2023_one-pager.pdf

 


1 https://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/famm/Prison-Report_May-31_Final.pdf
2 https://www.prisonpolicy.org/research/mental_health/
3 https://incarceratedworkers.org/sites/default/files/resource_file/iwoc_report_04-18_final.pdf

Expansion of Medical and Mental Healthcare Update
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Housing

Redefine “homeless” so that people leaving prison are eligible for HUD homeless programs

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) definition of homelessness was amended in 2009. It now defines homelessness as: 1) people and families lacking a fixed, regular nighttime residence – including a subset for an individual exiting an institution where they have resided for less than 90 days; 2) people in imminent danger of losing their primary nighttime residence; 3) unaccompanied youth and families with children who are defined as homeless other federal law and 4) people fleeing domestic violence.1 Under this definition, formerly incarcerated people who have spent more than 90 days in a correctional facility are not defined as homeless, making them ineligible for HUD homeless programs. Everyone has the same right to safe and secure housing, but under the current definition of homelessness, formerly incarcerated people who are living without homes are denied this right to housing, which jeopardizes the health and safety of their families and greatly impacts their ability to find and retain work. Housing must be a human right. The definition of homelessness must change. Administration reforms must be enacted to change the federal definition around homelessness, so that it includes formerly incarcerated people.

1 https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/PIH2013-15HOMELESSQAS.PDF

Redefine “homeless” so that people leaving prison are eligible for HUD homeless programs
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Remove the discretionary bans on public housing for people with criminal legal convictions

Federal law currently gives public housing officials enormous, discretionary power to deny people housing based on criminal activity. This must also change. As we have said earlier, housing is a fundamental human right, but these arbitrary, discretionary bans on public housing for people with criminal convictions exacerbate the economic and racial inequalities that still plague formerly incarcerated people. For example, an arrest—even before someone is found guilty—can often trigger eviction from public or private housing. These discretionary bans provide cover for public housing officials in their unfair decisions to deny marginalized, formerly incarcerated people, disproportionately Black and brown people, safe and secure housing.
 

Progress Update

From April 2022, “The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has initiated a six-month review of guidance to increase inclusion of housing for formerly incarcerated people.”

Sources

Remove the discretionary bans on public housing for people with criminal legal convictions Update
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Education

Establish guidelines for quality implementation and technical assistance of Pell Grants, and establish regulations for higher education institutions to ensure post transfer of academic credits

More than twenty-five years after Congress banned Pell grants for prison education programs — a prohibition imposed as part of the 1994 crime bill — legislation passed last year to reinstate Pell grants for incarcerated students. This means that incarcerated people, disproportionately Black and brown, will have the same right to higher education regardless of their income or socioeconomic status. Higher education creates pathways to opportunity, helps people grow and develop their lives, find jobs and contribute to their communities. However, there is still little guidance on how Pell grants will be accessible to incarcerated students, and these students still require education and clear guidance on the federal loan options that are available to them. In addition, the reinstated Pell grants have implications beyond prison walls. For example, many incarcerated students will leave prison without finishing their degree, and it is imperative that administrative reforms not only establish guidelines for implementation and technical assistance of Pell grants—but also create regulations for higher education institutions to transfer credits received behind bars, so that formerly incarcerated people can have the same equitable access to higher education that others enjoy.

 

Progress Update

In April 2022, the Department of Education (ED) announced it was expanding Second Chance Pell sites by 73 additional schools to bring the total of participating institutions to 204. This expansion of sites will help ED to prepare for full expansion of Pell Grant eligibility to incarcerated students in July 2023.

Source

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/04/26/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-expands-second-chance-opportunities-for-formerly-incarcerated-persons/

Establish guidelines for quality implementation and technical assistance of Pell Grants, and establish regulations for higher education institutions to ensure post transfer of academic credits Update
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Personnel Management

Establish Regulations for Fair Chance Hiring

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act passed Congress on December 17, 2019 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.1 It will help qualified workers with arrest or conviction records compete fairly for employment in federal agencies and with federal contractors. Like other “ban the box” laws that have been adopted around the country, the Act prohibits employers from asking about arrest and conviction history on job applications and instead delays that background check until a conditional job offer has been extended to the applicant. The passage of this law was a major victory for directly impacted advocates and activists for whom the expansion of employment opportunities has been a long priority. The Act will go into effect two years from the date of enactment, on December 17, 2021, and, before then, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and General Services Administration (GSA) must issue implementing regulations and the public must have an opportunity to comment. In the spirit of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, the OPM should establish a process for increasing federal employment opportunities for directly impacted people.

 

Progress Update

On August 31, 2023, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management issued its final recommendations to implement the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019 (Fair Chance Act), which prohibits federal agencies and federal contractors from requesting an applicant’s criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment to the applicant.

Source

https://www.opm.gov/news/releases/2023/08/release-opm-issues-final-regulations-to-prohibit-federal-agencies-from-requesting-criminal-history-during-hiring/

 

 

In April 2022, the Biden Administration announced it was Expanding Access to Federal Employment; The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will propose regulations and procedures of accountability that remove barriers to federal employment for formerly incarcerated people under the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act.

Source

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/04/26/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-clemency-and-second-chance-month/


1 https://www.nelp.org/publication/faq-fair-chance-to-compete-for-jobs-act-of-2019/

Establish Regulations for Fair Chance Hiring Update
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Small Business Administration

Repeal Exclusions in the 7(a) Loan Program

Access to the Small Business Administration (SBA) loan program, which helps business owners access loans from banks and other lenders is of critical importance to all entrepreneurs, including those who have a criminal legal history. This is truer than ever in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of income experienced by millions of Americans. But the governing SBA guidelines include the following exclusionary language: “Applications will not be accepted from firms where a principal ... is currently incarcerated, on parole, or on probation; is a defendant in a criminal proceeding; or whose probation or parole is lifted expressly because it prohibits an SBA loan.”1 This punitive rule has no rational basis. A “defendant in a criminal proceeding” is presumed innocent. In some states, terms of parole and probation can go on for years. No one should be excluded from pursuing their dream of owning a business because of stigma and discrimination.

Progress Update

In May of 2024, the Small Business Administration’s final rule takes effect, greatly increasing access to capital for entrepreneurs impacted by the criminal legal system. The new rules’ changes will enable SBA programs to provide lending in the form of Surety Bonds, 7(a), 504, Microloan, ILP, and Disaster loans to a wider swath of our community. 

https://www.sba.gov/article/2024/05/01/biden-harris-administration-announces-new-rule-increase-economic-opportunity-returning-citizens

In April 2022, the Biden Administration announced “Expanding Access to Business Capital”; The Small Business Administration (SBA) will remove barriers to the 7(a) and 504 loan programs for formerly incarcerated people.

Source

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/04/26/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-clemency-and-second-chance-month/


1 https://www.sba.gov/partners/lenders/7a-loan-program/terms-conditions-eligibility

Repeal Exclusions in the 7(a) Loan Program Update
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Long-Term Legislation

Passage of The Correctional Facility Disaster Preparedness Act Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Sen. Corey Booker (D-NJ)

In response to reports of Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and state prisons health and safety violations during natural disasters such as Hurricane Harvey and Irma, coupled with the impact of COVID-19 on correctional facilities nationwide, Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced the Correctional Facility Disaster Preparedness Act of 2020. If passed, this legislation would expand the National Institute of Correction (NIC) Advisory Board by permanently appointing a formerly incarcerated person. This is absolutely essential in protecting the lives of incarcerated people. In addition, the bill would establish disaster response and recovery plans to protect the health, safety and civil rights of incarcerated individuals during a presidential disaster declaration. Correctional facilities must be fully prepared to provide safe conditions during all types of emergencies, including natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic. Failure to protect the safety of millions of people trapped in correctional facilities during crises shows, once again, how Black and brown people are treated in the United States. This sort of disaster preparedness is integral to reforming the criminal legal system as it remains one of the few communal living spaces that do not have robust, system-wide emergency management systems. This legislation would impact the lives of people who are incarcerated and who work within correctional facilities around the nation.

 

Progress Update

JLUSA has successfully advocated for this legislation to be reintroduced in the Senate and supported by both Republican and Democratic Senators (S.2592), as well as to be introduced in the House with bipartisan support there, as well (H.R.7940).

Sources

Passage of The Correctional Facility Disaster Preparedness Act Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Sen. Corey Booker (D-NJ) Update
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Repeal of ban on public assistance - SNAP/TANF via the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996

In 1996, Congress imposed a lifetime ban on individuals convicted of a drug felony from receiving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and/or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) as a part of the welfare overhaul. While states are allowed to opt-out of the ban, and some have, many states still render access to these life-saving programs either impossible or extremely difficult for people who need it most. This ban is a denial of a basic human need and must be repealed. Repealing the drug felony ban would have the most impact on people of color and especially women, a population that is disproportionately incarcerated for drug crimes — 25 percent of women and only 14 percent of men in state prison have been convicted of a drug offense1— and comprise the majority of recipients for SNAP and TANF. Notably, removing this ban would mitigate hardship for formerly incarcerated people who have families with children.2 Furthermore, recently released individuals who have been convicted of a drug offense are 10 percent less likely to recidivate when provided full access to benefits such as SNAP and TANF.3 The positive impacts of repealing this outdated, harsh, and counterproductive policy on food assistance programs would support successful and sustainable reentry for formerly incarcerated people and their families. This ban must be lifted immediately.

 

Progress Update

JLUSA has joined a coalition led by the Drug Policy Alliance to meet this goal.


1 https://sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/A-Lifetime-of-Punishment.pdf

2 https://www.clasp.org/sites/default/files/public/resources-and-publications/publication-1/Safety-Net-Felony-Ban-FINAL.pdf

3 http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/olin_center/papers/pdf/Yang_920.pdf
4 https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/media_2021/04/Letter%20to%20Members%20of%20Congress%20-%20Support%20the%20MEAL%20Act.pdf

Repeal of ban on public assistance - SNAP/TANF via the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 Update
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Passage of the Humane Correctional Health Care Act

The Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy (Section 1905(a) of the Social Security Act)1 denies health care coverage to Medicaid enrollees who are involved in the criminal justice system. This policy not only decreases access to care but also shifts the cost of care to states and counties, thus putting excessive strain on local judicial, law enforcement, public safety and human services systems. Justice-involved people, most of whom are poor and/or people of color, are likely to experience significant health needs. For example, people who are incarcerated are more likely to suffer from chronic, complex health issues, including hypertension, diabetes, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and Hepatitis B and C, as well as substance use disorders and mental health issues.2 Yet, very few incarcerated individuals receive adequate treatment to manage their conditions. In response to this deficit of care, in 2019, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02), the founding co-chair of the Bipartisan Opioid Task Force, along with Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), introduced the Humane Correctional Health Care Act (H.R. 41413 / S.2305)4 to the House of Representatives and the Senate respectively. This legislation would repeal the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy, increase the justice-involved population’s access to quality coverage and care needed to help them successfully return to their communities and not recidivate. The Humane Correctional Health Care Act will also allow formerly incarcerated people access to treatment for mental health and substance use disorders while saving state and taxpayer dollars. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on marginalized people both in and out of correctional facilities, the passage of this bicameral legislation is urgent, and must be passed immediately.


1 https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2020/nov/medicaid-role-health-people-involved-justice-system#inmateexclusionpolicy

2 https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2020/nov/medicaid-role-health-people-involved-justice-system
3 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/2305/text?format=txt

4 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/4141?s=1&r=2

Passage of the Humane Correctional Health Care Act
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Passage of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act and legislation to address the disproportionate impact of marijuana criminalization on people of color, including community reinvestment, etc.

The House of Representatives’ passage of the MORE Act of 2020 a holistic approach to marijuana legalization that begins to address the oppressive drug laws and policies that have contributed to the disproportionate incarceration of people of color, especially Black people, and the “white washing” of the burgeoning cannabis industry. But decriminalization or legalization of cannabis alone falls far short of addressing the damage that the war on drugs has had, mostly Black and brown communities. For example, 46.9% of people arrested for drug violations are Black or brown, despite only making up only 31.5% of the U.S. population.1 These disparities exist even as white and Black people use drugs at the same rates.2 In states where cannabis has been decriminalized or legalized, discrimination still exists. For example, in Colorado, between 2012 and 2014, arrests for cannabis related offenses decreased 51% for white people, but only decreased by 33% and 25% for brown and Black people respectively. And in Washington D.C. Black people are 11 times more likely to be arrested for the use of cannabis in public spaces.3 The legalization of cannabis is only one important step towards reversing the damage caused by the war on drugs. Policymakers must work with directly-impacted people that have lived experience with the injustices of the legal system to pass the MORE Act as well as comprehensive cannabis reforms that include community reinvestment, expungement of past convictions, the elimination of collateral consequences for drug convictions and the elimination of immigration penalties.

Progress Update

JLUSA is a member of the Marijuana Justice Coalition, which has been instrumental in the second House passage of the MORE Act (H.R.3617). An accompanying Senate bill is expected to be introduced soon.

Sources


1 https://drugpolicy.org/issues/drug-war-statistics
2 https://www.naacp.org/criminal-justice-fact-sheet/
3 https://drugpolicy.org/legalization-status-report

Passage of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act and legislation to address the disproportionate impact of marijuana criminalization on people of color, including community reinvestment, etc. Update
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Amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include people with criminal background as a protected class

For a person with a criminal record, punishment does not end with the completion of a sentence. Instead, formerly incarcerated people are stigmatized and discriminated against by laws that routinely deny them access to benefits, food stamps, housing, driving privileges, education, employment, loans, and voting rights, all solely based on their conviction history. Even with the relief of expungement, in the digital age, a conviction becomes a permanent marker for discriminatory practices. The deep-seated discrimination against people with criminal records and their families is now woven into almost every institution associated with daily life. We must act to make redress available for people harmed by these practices, and the way forward is evident. People living with an arrest or conviction – an estimated 100 million people in the United States – must have the same available to others to challenge discrimination and political exclusion. To achieve this, formerly incarcerated and convicted people should fall under “equal protection clauses” of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as a protected class of persons.1 The 2012 Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission’s guidance introduces and, in effect, makes the argument for people with conviction records to be treated as a protected class. In linking the use of blanket employment bans in hiring to the potential disproportionate consequences it may have for Black and brown applicants, the EEOC not only acknowledges the deep structural racism embedded within the system, but also shows there must be recourse for the punitive sanctions that continue to perpetuate racial, social and political harm well after a sentence is over. An amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 must be introduced, that includes formerly incarcerated and convicted people as a protected class, as doing so directly correlates with the spectrum of discrimination outlined in the Act.


1 https://www.eeoc.gov/statutes/title-vii-civil-rights-act-1964

Amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include people with criminal background as a protected class
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Abolish the federal death penalty via passage of the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act of 2021

More than 170 people who were wrongly convicted and sentenced to death have been exonerated since 1973.1 In other words, at least 1 in 25 people sentenced to death are innocent.2 The margin of error intrinsic to capital punishment violates every value of human dignity and respect. In addition, racial bias has long been baked into the death penalty: Black people make up less than 13 percent of the nation’s population while accounting for more than 42 percent of those on death row.3 Researchers have also noted that capital punishment does not deter crime.4 Our criminal legal system must evolve to reflect our values of equity, respect and common dignity. As laid out in the Biden administration’s criminal justice plan, “Because we cannot ensure we get death penalty cases right every time, Biden will work to pass legislation to eliminate the death penalty at the federal level, and incentivize states to follow the federal government’s example.”5 Following a federally imposed moratorium on the death penalty as described above, the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act (H.R. 262) should be passed into law. This bicameral legislation, introduced by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) along with Senators Richard J. Durbin (D-IL) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), would “Prohibit the imposition of the death penalty as punishment for any violation of federal law” and mandate that those sentenced to death row be re-sentenced.6


1 https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/innocence

2 https://innocenceproject.org/national-academy-of-sciences-reports-four-percent-of-death-row-inmates-are-innocent/

3 https://www.naacp.org/latest/naacp-death-penalty-fact-sheet/
4 https://files.deathpenaltyinfo.org/legacy/files/DeterrenceStudy2009.pdf
5 https://web.archive.org/web/20201101005400/https://joebiden.com/justice/#
6https://pressley.house.gov/sites/pressley.house.gov/files/Federal%20Death%20Penalty%20Prohibition%20Act%20one%20pager%20FINAL.pdf

Abolish the federal death penalty via passage of the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act of 2021
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Repeal and reverse impact of the 1994 Crime Bill

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, more widely known as the ‘94 Crime Bill, enacted sweeping legislation that energized an already growing era of mass criminalization. As the most sweeping crime bill of the century -- and despite drops in crime rates prior to its introduction -- the Act codified draconian federal three-strikes laws and mandatory minimums, while at the same time expanding capital punishment and green-lighting a new age of extreme sentencing. Among its now-infamous measures, the Act included a $9 billion provision to subsidize the growth of state prisons and jails, funding for nearly 100,000 new state and local police, and excessive weaponry to law enforcement that militarized local police forces across the country.1 Upon enactment of the Crime Bill, the federal government was twice as likely to charge Black people with mandatory minimums as it did white people.2 Thus, at each stage of the criminal legal process – from pretrial detention, to inadequate public defense, to prosecutors leveraging fear for plea deals, to time spent in jail and prison and solitary confinement – Black and brown people were disproportionately targeted by mass punishment. State legislatures were incentivized by federal funds to follow the lead of the federal government in troubling fashion, enacting mandatory minimums and three-strikes laws, expanding felony offenses, enabling lengthier sentences, and dismantling opportunities for early release. From 1994 to 2007, the rate of imprisonment doubled, as did state expenditures on incarceration.3 Driven by fear-mongering and racist dog-whistle politics, the 1994 Crime Bill traded on the criminalization of Black and brown bodies, particularly young people, to generate political currency and bolster a militarized police state in economically marginalized neighborhoods. Repealing and replacing the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 must be a priority. Federal solutions must ensure restorative justice and community alternatives and foster healing, through recommendations such as the extension of free college programs into all state and federal carceral facilities and is dedicated to ending the proliferation of new jails and prisons across the country.


1 https://www.themarshallproject.org/2016/04/11/bill-clinton-black-lives-and-the-myths-of-the-1994-crime-bill

2 https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/137910NCJRS.pdf

3 https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/complex-history-controversial-1994-crime-bill

Repeal and reverse impact of the 1994 Crime Bill
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Constitutional Reform

Repeal the Thirteenth Amendment’s conditional exception permitting involuntary servitude for incarcerated people

The ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1865 made chattel slavery and involuntary servitude unconstitutional, yet it contained in its text a crucial and insidious exception.1 The Amendment states that slavery was unconstitutional, “except as a punishment for crime.” The consequences of this have been devastating for Black and brown people. In practice, this exception has empowered those who sought to expand the criminal punishment system as a pipeline for forced labor. And, given such license, they did so primarily in Black communities that were already brutalized by the institution of slavery that the Thirteenth Amendment was supposed to redress. For example, by 1886, state revenue from convict leasing exceeded the cost of running prisons by almost 400 percent2 and thus, profitability incentivized incarceration. The use of prison labor since 1865 remains to this day no more than an extension of forced labor practices that exploit Black and brown bodies for profit. The federal government must follow the lead of Colorado and repeal the Thirteenth Amendment’s conditional exception of involuntary servitude for incarcerated people.3 In addition, incarcerated workers are routinely exploited, and must have the right to form and belong to unions. Federal employment protections, including the Fair Labor Standards Act and prevailing local wages laws, as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Act, must be upheld for workers in correctional facilities. Private profiteering on human suffering must end, immediately.

Progress Update

JLUSA is a steering committee member of the End the Exception Campaign. The Abolition Amendment (H.J.Res.53) has been introduced and has gained bipartisan cosponsor support.

Sources


1 https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/amendment-13/

2 https://www.jstor.org/stable/2716851?seq=1

3 https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hcr18-1002

Repeal the Thirteenth Amendment’s conditional exception permitting involuntary servitude for incarcerated people Update
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End Felony Disenfranchisement

In the years after the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, all but one Southern state rewrote their constitutions, adding in damaging provisions that restricted the rights of marginalized people from exercising their right to vote, including literacy tests and poll taxes.1 Indeed, by the turn of the 20th century, felony disenfranchisement, alongside the violent terrorization of communities of color, became one of the most powerful mechanisms to ensure Black people could not exercise the voice, their political power, or play a role in the decisions that impact them. Felony disenfranchisement continues to limit the power of marginalized people. This has grave consequences for democracy. One in 16 African-Americans of voting age is disenfranchised, a rate more than three times higher than non-African-Americans of voting age.2 In 27 states, people are disenfranchised while on probation, while in 30 states, people are disenfranchised while on parole.3 In 11 states, people with felonies lose their right to vote indefinitely, or must seek a governor’s pardon to restore enfranchisement.4 Currently, 5 million people are barred from voting in local, state, and national elections as a result of felony disenfranchisement.5 The erosion of trust in democracy as a result of generational felony disenfranchisement reshapes the political ecology of whole neighborhoods and hijacks the power of the ballot to reallocate resources and attention. Voting rights should never be revoked. Voter suppression and disenfranchisement must end, for people in jails, in prisons, and in communities, as these stand in direct conflict with the fundamental marker of citizenship. Automatic voter registration, and the end of voter ID laws must be put into place. Policymakers must pass H.R. 16, and put an end to the divisive voter suppression that impacts Black and brown communities and denies too many Americans their voice, and their right to equity and fairness.

Progress Update

In 2023, Senator Ben Cardin introduced the Democracy Restoration Act. The bill, S. 1677/H.R. 4987, aims to eliminate the complicated patchwork of state laws, many of them directly influenced by the Jim Crow era. Current legislation among all 50 states and Washington D.C. reflects that in 23 states, voting rights are lost only while incarcerated and are then restored, in 15 states, voting rights are lost during incarceration, and for a period of time after, typically while on parole and/or probation; and in 10 states, people with felonies lose their right to vote indefinitely, or must seek a governor’s pardon to restore enfranchisement.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/1677?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22democracy+restoration+act%22%7D&s=1&r=2

https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/felon-voting-rights

JLUSA has joined the steering committee of the newly formed Universal Suffrage Coalition. 


1 https://uncpress.org/book/9780807849095/struggle-for-mastery/
2 https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/locked-out-2020-estimates-of-people-denied-voting-rights-due-to-a-felony-conviction/
3 https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/locked-out-2020-estimates-of-people-denied-voting-rights-due-to-a-felony-conviction/
4 https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/locked-out-2020-estimates-of-people-denied-voting-rights-due-to-a-felony-conviction/
5https://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/locked-out-2020-estimates-of-people-denied-voting-rights-due-to-a-felony-conviction/
6 https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1

End Felony Disenfranchisement Update
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Implementation

JLUSA is working with its partners and allies to implement the Roadmap’s policies at the federal level.  

JLUSA served on the Advisory Council established by FWD.us to conduct the first ever public opinion survey to measure the effect of using people-first language on the public’s attitudes towards criminal justice reform.  Based on the data, the final report concluded:

“Using people first language led respondents to question their biases and acknowledge that people are not fixed or defined by their past actions. This not only makes respondents more open to the opportunity for redemption or second chances, it makes them more critical of the criminal justice system and its potential for overreach.”

DeAnna Hoskins, president and CEO of JLUSA and Zoe Towns, vice president for Criminal Justice Reform at FWD.us co-authored an op-ed in The Washington Post titled “How the Language of Criminal Justice Inflicts Lasting Harm.” They reported the survey’s findings and urged the media and the public at large to adopt people-first language.

People First: The Use and Impact of Criminal Justice Labels in Media Coverage

HOW THE LANGUAGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFLICTS LASTING HARM

On July 1, 2021 Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a moratorium on federal executions while the Justice Department conducts a review of its policies and procedures.   JLUSA continues to advocate for the passage of the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act of 2021 (H.R. 262), introduced by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Tim Kaine (D-VA).

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