Washington, D.C. — Due to decades of mass incarceration and overpolicing, 1 in 3 American adults now have a criminal record. In the digital era, the proliferation of criminal background checks means a record, no matter how old or minor, can become a life sentence to poverty, preventing people from accessing jobs, housing, or education.
But over the past several years, there has been significant bipartisan momentum in dozens of states for both clean slate automatic record-clearing and fair chance licensing policies. In the COVID-19 era, these policies have taken on a new urgency as leaders at all levels of government work to build an inclusive economic recovery that doesn’t leave tens of millions of people behind.
Please join the Center for American Progress, the National Employment Law Project, and Community Legal Services of Philadelphia for a conversation with several of the state leaders behind recent transformative record-clearing and fair chance licensing legislative wins that offer a model for state and federal policymakers to put second chances within reach for workers and families. Live captioning will be available on Zoom and on the YouTube livestream.
WHO:
Distinguished guest:
Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II (D), Michigan
Panelists:
State Rep. Jordan Harris (D), Minority Whip, Pennsylvania General Assembly
Sharon Dietrich, Litigation Director, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia
Josh Hoe, Policy Analyst, Safe and Just Michigan
Whitley Carpenter, Criminal Justice Staff Attorney, Forward Justice
Moderator:
Rebecca Vallas, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
WHEN:
April 28, 2021
11:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m. ET
WHERE:
You must RSVP at this link to watch the livestream event.
This event will be live captioned at americanprogress.org/livecaptioning.
Closed-captioned-enabled video will be posted following the conclusion of the event.