Yet parents with a criminal record can encounter landlords and public housing restrictions that can prevent them from moving forward with their families. More state and local jurisdictions should foster family reunification, when appropriate, by requiring landlords to consider the person-including references for good conduct and type of criminal history-rather than discriminating based on his or her record.
We cannot forget that the people behind bars are fathers, mothers, and members of communities, and they don’t serve their sentences in isolation. Their children, families, and neighborhoods bear heavy burdens in their absence-burdens that persist even after they return. And their burdens stand to become ours as a nation if we don’t equip them and their families so that they can shoulder and, ultimately, put down that weight.
Related
One of the most significant barriers to reentry is the imposition of fines, fees, surcharges, costs, and other monetary penalties (collectively criminal justice debt). One-third of California’s released prisoners return home to Los Angeles following their incarceration. https://guaranteedinstallmentloans.com/payday-loans-md/ They are hobbled not only by restrictive rules, laws and policies relating to their criminal histories, but also by debts that limit their available resources to successfully reenter society.
One of my clients, Mr. Smith, is trying to expunge his conviction for petty theft. He owes over $2,000 in restitution, probation costs, and court fees. He cannot pay this hefty sum because he is unemployed-in part because of his criminal history. In reviewing his expungement petition, the judge notes the outstanding restitution and costs, and denies the petition. Mr. Smith has no way out of the debt trap-with his criminal conviction, he won’t be able to secure the job he needs to make sufficient income to pay off his debts.
Criminal justice debts are a growing national trend, but the problem is especially acute in Los Angeles. Due to a strained economy, Los Angeles courts are relying on court fees to revitalize their coffers. These fees go towards state funds for court construction and court operations, as well as locally, to salaries, benefits, and public agency retirement contributions for judges. In the last five years, Los Angeles trial courts collected over $1 billion in late fees (called civil assessment fees) charged to defendants when they did not pay their traffic or criminal court debt on time.
Though the fees are small in isolation, the accumulated criminal justice debt can total hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a single person, an overwhelming amount for most people reentering society, 90 percent of whom are poor and a disproportionate percentage of whom are people of color.
Though the fees are small in isolation, the accumulated criminal justice debt can total hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a single person.
Such requirements are already in place in Newark, New Jersey, and Oregon
These debts are part and parcel of a system that creates permanent debtors out of people with conviction histories. In California, various clean slate remedies allow for expungement of criminal records, providing individuals a better chance to secure jobs, housing, and benefits. However, many financially disadvantaged people are unable to take advantage of these remedies because full payment of fines and fees is a prerequisite. This debt therefore has a damaging effect on housing and employment prospects. Employers and private landlords routinely conduct background checks, which reveal criminal records that cannot be expunged due to financial obstacles. On top of that, wage and tax garnishments are increasingly used to collect criminal debt, which can eat away at one’s income from earnings. As such, criminal justice debt acts as a bar to gainful employment, increases the risk of recidivism, and creates barriers to reentry long after court-ordered sentences are completed.
