From PBS News Hour:
Each year, more than 600,000 people are released from federal and state prisons, according to recent numbers by the federal government, and 9 million more cycle in and out of jails. But leaving incarceration doesn’t necessarily mean a return to normal life, with barriers, both officially sanctioned and systemic, preventing access to basic needs like housing or restricting job opportunities, even if it has been years since the formerly incarcerated have been released.
In some states, people with felony convictions can’t vote. Public housing authorities can use their discretion to discourage people with criminal records from applying for housing, or put blanket bans on people with certain criminal convictions. And having a criminal record can also be a major barrier to employment, with a 2009 study finding that 28 percent of applicants without a record got a job callback, compared to only 15 percent of those with a record, according to a 2017 Urban Institute Report.
A new national initiative aims to help reduce those barriers over the next decade, and in doing so, make the process of leaving prison, called reentry, smoother and more effective. Continue reading >>>
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