#banthebox

[securecheck360]

Benefits of Pre-Employment Background Screening

[insideoutlorton]

"The freedom struggles of black people that have shaped the very nature of this country's history cannot be deleted with the sweep of a hand. We cannot be made to forget that black lives do matter. This is a country anchored in slavery and colonialism, which means for better or for worse the very history of the United States is a history of immigration and enslavement. Spreading xenophobia, hurling accusations of murder and rape and building walls will not erase history. No human being is illegal." - Angela Davis . . 📸 @ruckmanphoto . . . #womansmarch #womansmarchdc #unite #resistance #notaswamp #unity #demandprisonreform #prisonreform #sayhername #sayhisname #banthebox #blackwomenmatter #blackwomenaremagic #blacklivesmatter #igdc #fotodc #blackandwhitephotography #angeladavis #signsofresistance (at The Mall (Washington DC))

[rebel-threads]

Tired of normies telling you to “think outside the box”? Here’s your rebellion: the box is pointless. Infinite possibilities await. Wear it loud, wear it proud. . Ready to rebel? Hit that button. 🛒 Shop Now

[bantucola]

Welcome to the Gulf Coast Black Business Directory: 2100 Podcast with Jamil Davis - Ban The Box Tag them, @Them & send your congrats! https://tinyurl.com/y29taa5n #groupeconomics #blackowned #gulfcoast #banthebox #jamildavis

[tcifiscal]

Criminal Justice Reform in the Commonwealth: 1.6 Million People in Virginia with a Criminal Record Deserve A Fair Chance To Succeed

In the wake of a national conversation about racism, policing, and criminal justice reform, the time has come for changes to a system that has disproportionately targeted and incarcerated communities of color. This summer’s special session will be the next opportunity for Virginia’s lawmakers to advance necessary reforms, including new “fair chance” policies that remove counterproductive barriers – including in areas of employment, housing, and education – and allow people with criminal records to build a more secure economic future. 

A Flawed, Racially Biased System

Decades of “tough on crime” policies and mass incarceration have left more than 70 million people – or nearly one in three adults – in the United States with an arrest or conviction record. As a consequence, nearly half of all children in the country have at least one parent with a criminal record, making it easier for poverty to linger for multiple generations. 

But these trends have not been equally experienced, including in our commonwealth. A variety of factors – including discriminatory laws, practices (e.g., “broken windows” policing), and implicit biases – mean that race is a major factor at every stage of the justice system, such that Black Americans experience more frequent stops, searches, and arrests by police, while also facing higher rates of pre-trial detention, and ultimately harsher sentences than similarly situated white people. In fact, Black Virginians comprise about 19% of the population, but they accounted for more than 40% of all arrests in 2019. More than half – 55% – of all people in Virginia’s prisons are Black. These data points encapsulate a problem that is national in scope: in 2018, for every 100,000 adults in the United States, 555 people were imprisoned. But for every 100,000 Black adults, that number surged to more than 1,500 people. 

For the nearly 13,000 people who are released from prison in Virginia each year, and even for those who have been convicted of a minor offense, the stigma of a criminal record is difficult to wash away, including in the employment context. This is in part because employer background checks have become a standard practice. When these checks turn up a record, the applicant – if they are hired at all – can expect lower earnings: men who were formerly incarcerated can expect to work nine fewer weeks per year and earn 40% less annually, for a total loss of $179,000 even before the age of 50. 

These collateral consequences, however, are most pronounced for people of color. A landmark study found that among job applicants with a criminal record, the likelihood of a favorable response (e.g., an interview or job offer from the employer) for white candidates dropped by half, from 34% to 17%, but it fell by almost two-thirds, from 14% to 5%, for Black candidates. In fact, evidence suggests that white applicants with a criminal record are more likely to receive an interview from an employer than Black applicants without one. And among women who were formerly incarcerated, one analysis found that the odds of a favorable response from an employer were 93% greater for white women than for Black women. Overall, these findings underscore how job-seekers with a past criminal record are often punished twice: once for the record itself and again for the color of their skin. 

The barriers to employment that people with records face undermine our economy and public safety. According to one estimate, the stigmatization of people with felony records reduces the annual U.S. gross domestic product by an estimated $78 to $87 billion. This is despite growing evidence that people with records make good employees, an important consideration for businesses and even the U.S. military. In fact, research on individuals with a felony record serving in the military found that they were promoted more quickly and to higher ranks than other enlistees and were no more likely than service members without records to be discharged for negative reasons. At the same time, access to employment and higher wages has been shown to reduce recidivism and makes our communities safer. 

Creating Opportunity through Fair Chance Policy Reforms

As the General Assembly considers a menu of options to reform our criminal justice system, policies that create pathways to good-paying jobs for people with records can bolster families, communities, and our economy. These fair chance reforms, which build on existing laws in Virginia and best practices from other states, include:

Extending Ban-the-Box (BtB) to the private sector. In general, BtB laws delay when employers may inquire about a job applicant’s past criminal record, often until the interview stage. The basic goal is to ensure that an applicant is judged on their qualifications first. BtB laws often provide a framework, based on guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, to conduct an individualized assessment of any past convictions, including 1) the amount of time passed since the offense was committed, 2) whether the offense is related to the job sought, and 3) any evidence of the applicant’s rehabilitation. During the 2020 legislative session, the General Assembly passed – in bipartisan fashion –  House Bill 757 (Del. Aird), which prohibits arrest and conviction inquiries on initial employment applications for positions with state agencies and localities. This was an important first step for people in Virginia with a record: research has shown that BtB policies “raise the probability of public employment for those with convictions by about 30% on average.” Other recent studies have found that BtB laws increase the employment of residents living in “high-crime” neighborhoods, suggesting that these policies are meaningfully increasing opportunity for people with records. To build on this progress, Virginia’s lawmakers should extend BtB to the private sector, as 13 other states across the country have done.

Reforming Virginia’s restrictive expungement law. Virginia needs a strong expungement policy both because a criminal record should not be a life sentence to poverty and research shows that an individual’s risk of recidivism drops significantly over time, eventually making them no more likely than the general public to commit a crime in the future. With this in mind, the main idea behind expungement laws is simple: once someone remains crime-free for a specified period, certain prior offenses are sealed from public view. With a “clean slate,” the goal is to knock down the many barriers – relating to employment, housing, education, and public benefits – that often result from a criminal record. Expungement policies hold the power to change lives. A recent study of Michigan’s law found that within one year after a record is cleared, people are not only more likely to be employed, but wages go up by more than 20%. Virginia’s expungement law is widely understood as one of the “least forgiving and most restrictive” laws in the nation, giving very few people the chance at a clean slate. Current law generally provides no process by which adults can expunge a past record. The law’s scope is severely limited, extending only to people who have been tried but not found guilty, people who face charges that are later dropped, and people who receive an absolute pardon from the governor.   For these reasons, legislation to reform the law has become commonplace, even as the most significant reforms have failed to advance. In the 2019 session, HB 2278 (Del. Cole), which provided for the automatic expungement of a record after an absolute pardon, passed unanimously. More recently, in the 2020 regular session, a flurry of bills were introduced but did not pass, including a proposal that would have permitted people to pursue expungements of past convictions if they remain crime-free for eight years. Future reform should be guided by two key principles. First, the scope of Virginia’s law should be expanded to make expungement possible in more circumstances. For example, Maryland outlines more than 100 misdemeanors that are eligible for judicial expungement after a specified waiting period. Many other states – from North Carolina to Mississippi to Michigan – permit, in some situations, the expungement of certain felonies, especially minor, non-violent offenses and where the individual has no other significant criminal history.  Second, Virginia should establish a system that seals records through an automatic process, rather than a petition process, which can be costly and time-consuming. The experiences of other states underscore why this is important: according to one study, only 6.5% of people who could get their records sealed did so within 5 years of becoming eligible. To avoid this “uptake gap,” Pennsylvania became the first state in the country to set up an automatic process, which seals arrest records after charges are dropped and for certain minor conviction records after 10 years. Virginia can learn from this model, which was enacted with bipartisan support in Pennsylvania. Indeed, the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus has specifically named automatic expungement as a necessary component of future criminal justice reform.

The Time for Reform Has Come

The work to reform our criminal justice system and unravel collateral consequences that keep too many people in Virginia in poverty is vital, urgent, and will require a sustained effort. The General Assembly can begin that work this summer.

– Phil Hernandez, Senior Policy Fellow & Counsel

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Learn more about The Commonwealth Institute at www.thecommonwealthinstitute.org

[thenoticeblog]

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Wanna see more - 𝘢𝘯𝘥 help support more work like it? Buy a ticket to the virtual screening TODAY! July 3rd @ 3:15pm EST⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Just follow the link in my bio, and share this where you can 🙏🏿 ⁣⁣ “𝗪𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞”⁣⁣⁣ 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟑𝐫𝐝 @ 𝟑:𝟏𝟓𝐩𝐦⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ In the 1980’s, Reagan’s “War on Drugs” put Crime in the driver seat of American politics.⁣⁣ Tough on crime laws. Then came in the Clinton era, spurred on by politicians like then-Senator Joe Biden. Black and Latinx communities were hit the hardest; and the state of Michigan was no exception.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠⁣⁣ Katrina Cranford⁣⁣ Gwendolyn Hooker⁣⁣ Shaina Baldwin⁣⁣ Sylvester Sandler⁣⁣ Kendra Paul⁣⁣ William Price⁣⁣ Antonia Ortiz⁣⁣ Ed Genesis ⁣⁣ Selena Taylor⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 𝐕𝐎 𝗪𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫⁣⁣ Ean Kessler⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 ⁣⁣ Paul Notice ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐲⁣⁣ Megan Presman-French⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫 ⁣⁣ Paul Notice⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬⁣⁣ Colleen Brady⁣⁣ John Capello⁣⁣ @johncappelloart Rickey Turner⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐫 ⁣⁣ Megan Pressman-French⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 ⁣⁣ Just Leadership USA, ⁣⁣ The Notice Foundation, Inc.⁣⁣ @thenoticeblog ⁣⁣ 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐛𝐲 ⁣⁣ Paul Notice⁣⁣ @paul.notice ⁣⁣ TheNoticeBlog.com⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣#joebiden #banthebox #workingfutureMichigan #workingfuture #cleanslate #secondchance⁣⁣ #abolishthepolice #defundthepolice #abolition #blm #gangdatabase #blacklivesmatter #thenoticeblog #lofihiphop #2020documentaries #bestminidoc #brooklyndefenders #kraiglewis #hiphop #eastnewyork #linkinbio #videos #newtrending #trendingnews #trendingtopics ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ For anyone interested in learning more about our rates or services please email [email protected] (at New York, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/CCMLMQjDUmY/?igshid=14psuoy7uds03

[recoverywithrob]

** New Beyond The Bars Radio Podcast Alert : Colorado Prison Reform with Senator Pete Lee **

** New Beyond The Bars Radio Podcast Alert : Colorado Prison Reform with Senator Pete Lee **

Colorado Senator Pete Lee https://peteleecolorado.com/about-pete/meet-pete/

Community Service Throughout my working career, I have volunteered for many local community based organization, including serving on the board of AspenPointe Health Services, (formerly Pikes Peak Mental Health), the Manitou and Pikes Peak Restorative Justice Councils and the Youth Transformation Center. These…

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[justanoldsoutherngirl]

35 years LATER ...THIS is WRONG #BanTheBox

 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/20/opinion/expunge-criminal-records.html?smid=fb-nytopinion&smtyp=cur&fbclid=IwAR0jVTuLBdfwOCdHgV9vWR0U2hOtilbUhW_1Mu_PXOgdWm-PLUUUY5G49iY

So here is a current take on how this is STILL affecting me! In 1984, I was at the War Eagle Supper Club and drove home. Yep...at 87 pounds 2 beers (seriously ...2, it was right before finals) put me over the limit (I know, you are now focused on that I actually weighed 87 pounds in college!). I did my night in jail, did my DUI class, paid my fine, lost my license and then moved on with life (sorta). I got a job as a school teacher in Americus GA (yep...) and had to of course while getting my license, reveal that I had in fact gotten a DUI (no big deal right? It had just happened). 

So...fast forward ten years. I got a possession charge (if you know me you pretty much know that was a crazy time in my life...umm and ONE JOINT...ONE...in ALABAMA). So, same thing. Did my 30 minutes in jail (yep...don't ask, spring break set up..), did my DUI Level 2 class, paid my fine, lost my license, and moved on with life (sorta). So at the time I was able to keep my job and then I started slowly putting life back together. 

NOW, let's fast forward to 2004 (so 20 years after DUI, 10 years after Possession). I am heading back to school  (graduate school). Guess what questions you have to answer on the FAFSA (so yep...here we go)? Since I lived in Alabama all of it is STILL on my record. 

2008. Apply for position at South Alabama, and because I answered a question incorrectly was called in at HR and screamed at that I was a liar and that I had a 1984 charge for DUI and left it off my paperwork and that she personally would make sure that me, a liar, would NEVER work there, EVER (really? so 2008, 24 year AFTER, and I don't get hired...due to not putting a 24 year old DUI charge on my paperwork). 

Finished PhD...and guess what in 2012, 28 years AFTER DUI...still having to disclose it to get a job in academics (where if you know ANYTHING about academics you know that MANY of them drink heavily and smoke pot...probably due to all the stupidity of the administration but that is another rant for another day!). 

SO...fast forward to this month (2019 -1984) 35 YEARS LATER TO THE MONTH of BOTH offenses (clearly March sucks for me!) I have a call from the some-high-up-attorney-general-in-the-state to fact check the question that the PSC (the muckety mucks in Education) want to censure my teaching license for NOT revealing that I had a DUI and a possession charge (25 years later)...ummm...NOPE! I was ready for this argument as they tried this about six months ago and I hired a lawyer, who then said...you got this on your own and are good...just fight it. Anywhoo, they wanted to FORMALLY censure me for a 35 year old incident and a 25 year old incident that did NOT occur while holding an active teaching license..umm...nope. 

That is just wrong people. Just wrong! 

So the attorney actually went back to the first application and realized that I DID report the DUI in 1984 when applying for my license (ok, so no censure for that one), AND that I not only reported the 1994 incident (in 2018 while applying for my renewal) but my license was not active in 1994 so you basically can't penalize me for not reporting it 25 years ago! 

WTH? When people tell you we shouldn't vacate bad shit ever, I want you to think about what I have written here. 35 year old DUI??? 25 year old Possession charge...and not even a speeding ticket in 25 years? Frankly anything now in possession should be thrown out (hello...even in 1994, NYC had it as a $25 fine...). DUIs should come off after five years/10 max. 

This is robbery. it is wage theft. It is evil, mean, hateful, racist, and does not allow people to ever move past that one or two things they did many, many years ago...Furthermore, it is not Christian as you are NEVER forgiven, you have paid your debt and you are NEVER allowed to move forward.  

This is shameful...and frankly it allows bullying to occur at the highest levels in hiring practices (well we would have hired you but you know you were not potty trained at 2 so let’s just get real about this. We are afraid you will pee on the floor). See how stupid that sounds? 

I actually did not get into one graduate school due to this issue ..again, like I told the asshole who stated he doubted I had changed (umm...I have a freaking master’s you moron, what does grad school have to do with a dui/possession). BTW, I saw this asshat at a conference, drunk off his ass, and basically let him have it in the hallway. I heard he later got in trouble screwing graduate students...Karma is a bitch. 

36 states allow for some expungement of records...but NOT Alabama, Georgia, and Florida (my take is that it is because there are so many minorities who would benefit, and just so many Christians who want us to all go to hell for drinking or being bad people). https://ccresourcecenter.org/state-restoration-profiles/50-state-comparisonjudicial-expungement-sealing-and-set-aside/

But don’t worry...me and a homegirl who were both in DUI school together are making great decisions, moved on, have jobs in academics and are both well established scholars...married to great brilliant men, and WE were able to move forward in spite of our past (most likely due to the fact that we are white, middle class women with pretty damn strong personalities). But it is still wrong...and it is still racist...and it is still not allowing people to grow, to mature, and to change.  However, I bet Squee and the boys were able to do just fine.