Scrubbing The Past To Give Those With A Criminal Record A Second Chance

In 2022, the Dauphin County Commissioners voted to eliminate “pay-to-stay” fees that meant people incarcerated in the county jail were often saddled with debt upon their release, regardless of the outcome of their trial. In September 2024, the commissioners also voted to forgive past debt accrued under the pay-to-stay policy, providing $66 million in relief for formerly incarcerated individuals, giving them a better chance at getting back on their feet post incarceration.

The state of Mississippi has taken drastic steps in reforming their criminal justice system, pointing to a nationwide cultural shift as a driving force. State legislation, such as expanding parole eligibility, eliminating mandatory minimum sentences, and barring licensing boards from discriminating against individuals who used to be incarcerated are just a handful of policies the state has championed. The reform has led to a prison population decrease of 11% and state savings of $46 million

In 2018, San Francisco county forgave $32 million worth of criminal justice administrative fees. These fees are issued to formerly incarcerated individuals upon release from prison, most of which are not employed and without stable housing. The coalition pursuing this policy change cited economic justice for those that have already paid their societal debt and an overall state savings in collection costs as the primary reasons to end this practice.

The Formerly Incarcerated Law Students Advocacy Association at City University of New York's law school mentors people whose criminal records serve as a barrier to pursuing a law career. FILSAA is part of a movement to nurture law-practice dreams and make them a reality by knocking down those barriers, including restrictive use of states' "character and fitness" requirements to become licensed to practice. Before that step, mentors can help people prepare for the LSAT and succeed in law school. Advocates say that lawyers with lived experience can serve clients better by earning their trust more readily.

If incarcerated, low-income individuals who are reliant on Medicaid typically lose access to their benefits which accelerates the difficulty of reentry. To help close the gap, the National Association of Counties and the National Sheriffs’ Association have joined together to implement stopgap measures to help inmates either retain their benefits or have them only suspended instead of terminated.

Providing those experiencing incarceration with educational services has shown to reduce recidivism by 28%. While many prisons offer GED or higher education classes, the opportunities are still hard to come by consistently, so organizations like Underground Scholars help recruit individuals after prison to colleges. Looking forward, those pushing for criminal justice reform hope to overturn a 1994 legislation that banned incarcerated individuals from being eligible for Pell Grants, which could help drive more people from prison to school.

The organization Southerners on New Ground is helping reform the criminal justice system in the south. Activists won a small victory in Atlanta, where the mayor and city council approved a resolution that replaced cash bonds with signature bonds for misdemeanor offenses. They also raised money to help people pay their cash bails as part of a larger event called the National Bail Out collective, which bailed out 147 Black women in 26 cities this year.

A Rotary club in Topeka, Kansas, has transformed reentry support for incarcerated women at the Shawnee County Jail through Intersection to Care, a program that pairs immediate-release support with mentorship, skills classes, and subsidized housing. The program, led by women with lived experience of incarceration, meets women at the jail exit to prevent trafficking, connects them to recovery housing through Oxford House of Kansas, and offers technology, health, art, and movement classes inside the facility. Since launching in 2022, the initiative has assisted more than 1,000 women.

Illinois has implemented mental health courts across 31 counties as an alternative to incarceration for people with mental illness. These specialized courts divert defendants into community-based treatment programs lasting 1-2 years, featuring regular court appearances, counseling and drug testing. Since 2017, approximately 50% of participants have successfully graduated from mental health court programs statewide, with 11,000+ diverted from prison through the broader Adult Redeploy Illinois initiative.

In response to the dangerous gap in health services that incarcerated people face upon release, California and 26 other states have implemented Medicaid waivers allowing coverage to begin up to 90 days before release and continue for up to a year afterward. The program connects inmates with case managers, medications, housing assistance, and mental health care before they walk out the door. California's program has already enrolled more than 50,000 incarcerated people in prerelease services since January 2023.