Reentry Clinic Primer Page
Table of contents
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Services
- 2.1. Clean Slate
- 2.2. Title VII
- 2.3. Occupational License
- 3. Training
- 4. Statistics
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Services
- 2.1. Clean Slate
- 2.2. Title VII
- 2.3. Occupational License
- 3. Training
- 4. Statistics
Introduction
A criminal conviction can lead to various collateral consequences that impede rehabilitation of a formerly-incarcerated individual. These include barriers to employment, housing, family union, health care, and political participation in government, to name a few. We focus on employment barriers to reentry, analyzing their implications; studying political and legal initiatives to lower these barriers; and putting into practice what we learn from our studies.
Services
We offer three broad categories of services: clean slate, Title VII, and occupational license.
Clean Slate
Clean slate refers to various remedies that "clean up" one's criminal records. At the clinic, law students working under the supervision of volunteer attorneys help community residents with criminal records fill out the required paperwork to dismiss those convictions from their record, as allowed by law.
Title VII
Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on a protected category, such as race. You can read more about how the law applies in the context of criminal background checks. At the Clinic, we screen each participant for a potential Title VII claim, making sure that they meet both the statute of limitations (180 days) and jurisdictional (race-based) requirements. We conduct further screening interviews to help the particpant determine whether to file a Title VII claim with the EEOC and also assist him in filing the initial complaint.
Occupational License
Experience shows that an informed use of the review procedure outlined in California Business & Professions Code §§ 480, et seq. dramatically increases the chances of obtaining and keeping an occupational license for people with criminal records. We educate our participants of their rights under the existing law and direct them to the appropriate agencies to excercise those rights. If their case has gone beyond our educational scope, then we refer them to Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County for a more in-depth consultation with experienced attorneys.
Statistics
Exit survey and participant tracking data are available upon request. Please contact joshua@anewwayoflife.org for more information. For the school year 2007-08, we provided direct assistance to the total of 70 participants: 45 in 2007 clinic, and 25 in 2008 plus a number of individuals to whom we provided training and information.
| SERVICE | 2007 | 2008 |
| P.C. §§ 1203.4, 1203.4a, 17(b) | 17 | 13 |
| Certificate of Rehabilitation | 6 | 2 |
| Title VII | 1 | 6 |
| Occupational Licensing | 2 | 2 |
| Other | 2 | 2 |
| TOTAL | 45 | 25 |
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