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www.saferfoundation.org 1
Safer Foundation
Policy & Advocacy
Presenter: Anthony Lowery
Director, Policy & Advocacy
[email protected] Office Phone: 312-431-8992
Frontline Workforce Association
Chicago, Illinois
January 13, 2016
www.saferfoundation.org 2
OVERVIEW ABOUT SAFER FOUNDATION
Safer Foundation is a 44-year-old, not-for-profit organization, headquartered in Chicago. Our mission is to support through a full spectrum of services, the efforts of people with criminal records to become employed, law-abiding members of the community and as a result, reduce recidivism.
10 locations in Illinois and one in Iowa
Nearly 300 employees on staff
A 62% reduction in recidivism rates
with clients achieving 30 days of
employment
Over 3,900 job starts in FY 15
$22 million budget in FY 15
www.saferfoundation.org 3
PROGRAMS RETENTION SERVICES MODEL: AN INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK
Group Orientation
Pathway
Placement
Intake and
Assessment
Transitional Employment
Pathway
Supportive Services
Pathway
Job Ready Pathway
>7.0 TABE
>6 Months consecutive work
experience
Group 1: No credentials
Group 2: GED and/or
vocational credential
<7.0 TABE
<6 Months consecutive work
experience
Candidate
Pool/Job
Search
Job Bank
Industry
Sectors
Service
Industries
Manufacturing
Construction
Transportation/
Warehousing/
Logistics
Other Sector
Strategies
Retention
Groups
Job Readiness
Training If <1 yr of
work
Career
Planning
WorkshopsIf>1 yr of
work
On the Job
Groups If in
Transitional
Employment
Make needed referrals; monitor
services to meet required
thresholdsRefer to Pathway
Mental Health
Substance Abuse
Career Scope
BESI
Services heavily front-end
loaded towards retention
Preparing for Employment Finding Employment Keeping Employment
www.saferfoundation.org 4
POLICY SAFER’S WORK
Safer bases its interest in and commitment to this area of work on the
recognition that a variety of policy and legislative obstacles exist that
obstruct the successful return of people with criminal records to their
communities. Policies such as these may unwittingly encourage
recidivism and reduce opportunities for self-sufficiency.
Safer’s overarching advocacy goals are to:
Increase community awareness of the barriers faced by PCRs
Build a broad based coalition to work towards eliminating and/or
reducing barriers, and
Provide a voice and vehicle for participation by the people most
impacted by these policies.
Council of Advisors to Reduce Recidivism through Employment
(CARRE): A collaboration of individuals and organizations that focuses on
the removal/reduction of systemic barriers to employment.
www.saferfoundation.org 5
POLICY PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS
CHICAGO-BASED
Illinois Partners for Human Services
Sentencing Policy Advisory Council
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
League of Women Voters of Illinois
Community Renewal Society
NON CHICAGO-BASED
National Employment Law Network (NELP)
National HIRE Network
Council of State Government/National
Reentry Resource Center
Brennan Center for Justice
Leadership Conference on Civil
and Human Rights
Morgan-Lewis Law Firm
Cabrini Green Legal Aid
John Howard Association
Illinois Justice Project
Chicago Jobs Council
Open Society Institute
The Sentencing Project
Legal Action Center
Prison Fellowship
Brennan Center for Justice
www.saferfoundation.org 6
POLICY Eliminating Barriers to Employment
Certificates of Rehabilitation: Certificates of rehabilitation lift statutory bars to jobs, licenses or
other necessities such as employment that result from a conviction history. Certificates may be
used to provide a way for qualified people with criminal records to demonstrate
rehabilitation/commitment to rehabilitation. They are an essential resource that supports reentry and
promotes public safety.
Ban the Box State of Illinois: Effective January 1, 2015, this law requires that private employers
with more than 15 employees remove the criminal conviction question from their employment
applications. Employers may not inquire as to an applicant's criminal record prior to the initial
interview.
Ban the Box City of Chicago: Effective January 1, 2015, this law requires that all employers
remove the criminal conviction question from their employment applications. Employers may not
inquire as to an applicant's criminal record prior to the initial interview.
Sealing Expansion: Effective January 1, 2016, Allows a person who earned a high school
diploma, associate's degree, career certificate, vocational technical certification, or bachelor's
degree, or passed the high school level Test of General Educational Development, during the
period of his or her sentence, aftercare release, or mandatory supervised release, to petition for
sealing of eligible offenses before expiration of applicable waiting periods under the sealing law
(currently 3 years in the state of Illinois).
www.saferfoundation.org 7
POLICY Available Assistance for Criminal Records Relief
Cabrini Green Legal Aid: 3.9 million men and women in Illinois have a criminal record. There are many forms of
relief available in our state, and CGLA is the premier legal agency helping people with
records obtain a second chance.
Criminal Records Program:
CGLA assists individuals in clearing their arrest and conviction records through a range
of legal remedies, including expungement, sealing, clemency, health care waivers,
certificates of good conduct, and certificates of relief from disability. The program
includes our Help Desks at the Daley Center and the Markham Courthouse, our
Criminal Records Corps of trained law students who bring these services to clients of
homeless agencies, and individual advice and representation by staff and volunteer
attorneys, including for clients of workforce development agencies and other partner
organizations that serve people who face these barriers.
CGLA is able to represent individuals who live in the city of Chicago with a household
income less than 150% of the federal poverty guidelines and have a legal problem in
one of our areas of practice.
www.saferfoundation.org 8
HEALTHCARE FORUM
• On Thursday, May 7, 2015 Safer Foundation President
and CEO Victor Dickson and Congressman Danny
Davis co-hosted a successful landmark Healthcare
Forum, "Innovative Workforce Development Initiatives:
Utilizing an Untapped Workforce to Build Stronger
Communities.“
• The Forum brought together 30 healthcare executives
responsible for or involved in hiring decisions.
• Pamela Paulk - President of Johns Hopkins
Medicine International and a 2014 White House
Champion of Change - delivered the keynote address
on Hopkins’ successful program hiring people with
criminal records.
• Safer made a presentation to healthcare leaders on
pilots offering persons with criminal records
employment.
www.saferfoundation.org 9
OPENING THE DOORS TO
OPPORTUNITY IN HEALTHCARE
The forum was a first step in facilitating increased hiring of
individuals with criminal backgrounds by healthcare employers in
the Chicago-area.
Ten healthcare organizations including hospitals, hospital
networks and community health centers, expressed interest
in working collaboratively to increase hiring of people with
criminal records!