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Second Chances

Today, approximately 1 in 3 U.S. adults have a criminal record, and the stigma of that record often means a life sentence to poverty that causes collateral damage spanning generations. For system-impacted people, reentering their community after incarceration can be incredibly difficult when there are so many barriers that stem from having a record. Access to life essentials—such as employment, housing, education, and health care—is especially hard to come by when trying to successfully reenter society. These barriers are even more stark for people of color and other historically marginalized communities.

Second chance policies are an important opportunity to recognize these challenges and uplift the comprehensive policy solutions that will help to significantly reduce the collateral consequences of incarceration and a record for those who are ready to rebuild toward a brighter future. In many cities and states across the country, there is already growing bipartisan momentum for these reforms—such as “clean slate” automatic record-clearing and fair chance licensing—which have proven to reduce recidivism and allow individuals with criminal records to become productive members of society.

It is time to reimagine our criminal justice system, uplift reforms such as these, and give returning citizens an opportunity for rehabilitation, not only for themselves but also for their families and communities.

An attendee wears a pin that reads “I'm for second chances.”
An attendee wears a pin that reads “I'm for second chances” before a Democratic presidential town hall at Eastern State Penitentiary on October 28, 2019 in Philadelphia. (Getty/Mark Makela)
Related Team
Criminal Justice Reform

The Criminal Justice Reform team focuses on developing policies to shrink the justice system’s footprint, improve public health and safety, and promote equity and accountability.

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A Holistic Approach to Environmental Justice Video

A Holistic Approach to Environmental Justice

The Friendship House Association of American Indians is using Inflation Reduction Act funds to support the building of Village SF, an inter-Tribal community project that will help the more than 18,000 Indigenous peoples in the San Francisco Bay Area reconnect with nature, their culture, and their community.

Margaret Cooney, Jeremy Hill, Hai-Lam Phan, 2 More Olivia Mowry, Lauren Vicary

Second Chances Make Our Communities Safer Past Event
An attendee wears a pin that reads “I'm for second chances.”

Second Chances Make Our Communities Safer

Please join CAP and the Clean Slate Initiative for a virtual event on how clean slate policies make our communities safer by increasing employment and opportunities that reduce recidivism and crime.

Give Women a Second Chance—Our Economy Depends on It In the News

Give Women a Second Chance—Our Economy Depends on It

Akua Amaning and Sheena Meade write about how second chance policies can help lift millions of women out of poverty.

Newsweek

A Criminal Record Shouldn’t Be a Life Sentence to Poverty Report
(Close-up reflection of a white sign with red and black text in a window reading

A Criminal Record Shouldn’t Be a Life Sentence to Poverty

Bipartisan momentum for clean slate and fair chance licensing policies—which remove barriers to economic opportunity for people facing the stigma of a criminal record—has grown significantly in the states in recent years.

Rebecca Vallas, Sharon Dietrich, Beth Avery

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