Timely workforce thoughts and actions that advance Towards Employment’s Policy Action Plan – to promote economic mobility, especially for those most impacted by systemic racism, through education and advocacy for a more equitable workforce system where everyone has access to family sustaining wages and quality jobs. | |
Over 1 million Ohioans with criminal records are eligible to have their records sealed: What are we waiting for?
By Patrick Higgins, Guest Writer
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The Getting Rehabilitated Ohioans Working (“GROW”) Act, House Bill 460, is a legislative solution to an issue that is widespread throughout Ohio: the pervasiveness of criminal records long after a person has served whatever penalty was imposed for their conviction. We call the lasting impacts of contact with the criminal legal system collateral sanctions. Collateral sanctions are not part of a person’s sentence but show up among the hundreds of restrictions on things like employment or in less formal ways like stigma. This may include restrictions on everything from occupational licensing to a person’s ability to chaperone a child’s field trip. Collateral sanctions span far and wide and they generally do not go away until a person seals their record. When a criminal record is sealed, a person may treat it as though it no longer exists, and it becomes inaccessible to most members of the public.
The GROW Act makes the record sealing process less difficult by making it semi-automatic. While it would not change record sealing eligibility, the bill does take the burden off the person who wants to have their record sealed. This is an important step because the record sealing process is more burdensome than many realize. Consider the following likely steps for a record sealing applicant (which are done with or without the help of an attorney): 1) Determine that they want to have a record sealed; 2) Determine whether or not they are eligible for record sealing (only after the person has met eligibility criteria such as paying outstanding fines and restitution); 3) Fill out a record sealing petition; 4) File the petition(s) by paying a filing fee or by asking the court to waive the filing; 5) Prepare for a record sealing hearing (with or without the help of an attorney); 6) Take time off for a record sealing hearing (keep in mind that, if the petitioner is an hourly worker, that this time is likely unpaid); 7) Secure and pay for childcare (if applicable) for the date of a record sealing hearing; and 8) Attend the record sealing hearing and advocate for record sealing.
Instead, the GROW Act tasks Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation with compiling a list of sealing-eligible records and forwarding it to courts and their prosecutors. Under the as-introduced version of the GROW Act, prosecutors then have 90 days to review the record and object to the sealing of the record. If there is no objection, the court would then proceed with sealing the criminal record. Further, following the sealing of a criminal record, an employer is provided with immunity from negligence claims related to an employee’s sealed records.
Over one million Ohioans stand to have their records sealed by the GROW Act. This is why we see a broad range of organizations and individuals supporting the bill and its potential impact on applicants and employers alike. The bill currently sits in the House Criminal Justice Committee and needs to pass the House and Senate before being signed by the Governor to become law.
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Patrick Higgins (guest writer) serves as policy counsel for the ACLU of Ohio. In this role, he combines his legal training and love for good policy to advocate for impactful changes at the state and local levels. Patrick primarily works on issues related to the ACLU Campaign for Smart Justice which is a multiyear effort to reduce the U.S. jail and prison population and combat racial disparities in the criminal legal system. | |
Scroll down for a Real-Time Take on the GROW Act | |
Towards Employment Awarded the Opportunity@Work STARs Grant | |
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Towards Employment was awarded the Opportunity@Work grant to accelerate Economic Mobility for Workers Skilled through Alternative routes (STARs), one of eight organizations nationally to receive this grant. Towards Employment's work supports economic mobility by providing job placement support, career coaching, and wraparound support for STARs in Cleveland neighborhoods most impacted by historic redlining. This work aims to reverse a legacy of inequity by providing support to STARs with criminal records, those with a history of addiction, and/or those who have faced housing instability.
Excerpt from the award press release: "STARs are in every community across the country, and are overrepresented in populations that have been historically excluded from the fastest-growing sectors of the economy, including women, Black and Hispanic workers, immigrant and English language learner workers, justice-impacted workers, rural workers, and opportunity youth," said Jill Rizika, President & CEO of Towards Employment, one of the program's grantees. "Opportunity@Work is catalyzing a nationwide movement to unlock economic opportunity for STARs — from research, to guidance for employers in both the public and private sectors, and now to grantmaking. We're thrilled to receive this grant and grateful for the uniquely intentional, community-oriented approach that the Opportunity@Work team took throughout the process."
| | Scroll down for a Real-Time Take on STARs | |
Interviews with Towards Employment staff, participants, and graduates about relevant and timely workforce topics. | |
Submitted by Brian Balogh and Gabrielle Fortin | |
Real-Time Takes: GROW Act | | |
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For Jane and millions like her, having a record meant serving a “second sentence”; one without a timeline or clear path to redemption. Despite fulfilling her legal obligations, Jane Doe was subjected to a variety of collateral consequences that made leading a normal life cumbersome and discouraging. I sat down with Jane Doe and listened to her experience with the complicated and costly 10-month process she navigated to get her record sealed. | | |
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A lack of a degree does not entail a lack of skill. Rather than college degrees, STARs draw upon diverse experiences that add value to the workplace. Their skills come from various realms that range from military service and community college to training program certificates. Most commonly, their skills are attained and refined through on-the-job learning. Nevertheless, they are screened out of jobs by algorithms, are paid less than college graduates- despite equal performance- and are more likely to be passed over for promotions. | | |
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Brian Balogh - TE Policy Fellow and retired professor and award-winning cohost of a public radio show - interviews TE graduates and staff about interesting workforce topics. Brian combines written text, live words, his research, and community resources n simple stories for workforce friends and supporters to share. | | |
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Gabrielle Fortin (she/her) is Towards Employment’s Summer 2024 Cleveland Foundation Policy and Advocacy Intern. During her internship, she has been supporting TE’s 2022-2025 Policy Agenda with a focus on collateral sanctions. Some of her responsibilities include collaborating with community coalitions, tracking legislation (SB37, HB460, HB464) as well as researching and compiling data to advance TE policy initiatives. | |
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NEOWC Quartlery Meeting
Next Meeting: August 15th, 9:30am - 10:30am
NEOWC works to create a “table” where local policy makers and funders can engage workforce stakeholders in a more efficient manner, and by which NEOWC members can bring priority issues to their attention. It offers quarterly sessions to share best practices, foster innovation, promote alignment, and leverage expert input on programmatic, funding and policy issues.
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Drive to Justice Coalition Joins "In the Neighborhood" in July and August
A coalition to end debt-related driver's license suspensions in Ohio.
Drive to Justice is a coalition of community-based organizations advocating to end debt-related driver’s license suspensions in Ohio. By providing education and support while connecting with policymakers, Drive to Justice aims to mobilize and empower community members around the issue of debt-related driver’s license suspensions, ensuring that public policy is informed by the views of Ohioans most affected by these policies.
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