For too long, our society, our justice system and our public policies have made it nearly impossible for individuals with a criminal record to move on from their past mistakes.
Due to the myriad challenges they face, supporting justice-involved individuals requires a multi-faceted approach that tackles these barriers both individually and globally. And in doing so, we not only improve the lives of returning citizens, but our communities and economy as well.
As the lead strategist for the University of Michigan School of Social Work’s ENGAGE initiative and a leader of the Employment Equity Learning and Action Collaborative, I have become familiarized with the restorative practices at Self-Help Addiction Rehabilitation Inc. or SHAR, the stigma-busting services at Detroit Hispanic Development Corp., and the work of other great partner organizations in Southeast Michigan to identify barriers to employment for formerly incarcerated residents and eliminate them.
When returning citizens come home, the need for support is particularly high — and crucial — to successfully reaching their goals.
Justice-involved Michiganders’ challenges are often interconnected and contingent on each other, including securing housing, finding work, going back to school or learning new skills, and finding support for mental and behavioral health needs.
As vice chair of the board of the Michigan League for Public Policy, I also understand the need for systems change and broader reform to have the greatest impact on state residents.
Policymakers passed a number of positive criminal justice reforms in 2020, most notably the Clean Slate package that expanded and automated the expungement process for criminal records. That same Legislature also enabled individuals with a criminal record to get certain professional licenses, reined in the overuse and misuse of driver’s license suspensions for offenses not related to dangerous driving, and eliminated Michigan’s particularly stringent lifetime ban on food assistance for individuals convicted of certain drug felonies. These smart and thoughtful justice reforms had the support of the business community and helped offer stability and more opportunities for justice-involved individuals.
While the policy landscape for justice-involved individuals has markedly improved, there are still plenty of opportunities to continue the momentum. The Legislature is currently considering bipartisan legislation, House Bills 5380–5383, that would make it easier for returning citizens to get a state identification card, and in turn, easier to get a job or secure housing.
There are also a number of bipartisan policies and programs currently being considered by the Michigan Legislature that would benefit an array of Michiganders while also having a direct, positive impact on formerly incarcerated individuals. This includes legislation to allow for the expungement of certain eviction records, expanding the state Earned Income Tax Credit to help workers with lower incomes, and budget funding for Michigan Reconnect, which offers free higher education and skilled trade training for workers 25 years old and up.
Finally, there is one need that would help improve and inform all other criminal justice reforms: better data collection and disaggregation by race and ethnicity.
Clean Slate and the other aforementioned criminal justice reforms have made some headway in recognizing that our justice system continues to have a disparate impact on Black and Brown people and individuals with lower incomes. But the racial disparities in the legal and criminal justice systems are still not easily quantified, and as such, the benefits of these and other policy changes can’t be adequately measured.
From policing and arrests to sentencing and incarceration, improved tracking and dissemination of racial data will better expose and identify disparities and contribute to greater equity for all residents, especially Michiganders of color. State and local officials must improve policies and strategies on data collection, disaggregation and access to better serve community supports, policy advocacy, and ultimately, justice-involved residents.
Better supporting justice-involved individuals when they get home helps them personally, but the benefits ripple through the justice system by reducing recidivism and state corrections spending, the business community by creating a better workforce and more consumers, and the economy by creating more financial stability and higher earnings for more residents.
As big budget decisions are made in the next month, and big policy decisions are made in the remaining six months of the session, policymakers should continue to tackle reforms to address the needs of returning citizens, improving racial equity and economic security in the process.
