Authorizing City Council's Committee on Public Safety to hold a public hearing to investigate the challenges and barriers effecting individuals with criminal records.

WHEREAS

,

Millions of Americans - one in five adults - have arrest or conviction records that often follow them throughout their lives; and

WHEREAS

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Individuals with criminal records are discriminated against on a very wide array of issues ranging from employment, housing, health care, public assistance… the list is long, truly unknown and constantly growing; and

WHEREAS

,

Most employers either exclude voluntary disclosures by applicants or conduct criminal background checks, potentially derailing qualified workers who may have minor offenses or inaccurate records attributed to them; and

WHEREAS

,

Criminal convictions can prevent an ex-offender from moving into a federally subsidized housing facility or participating in a federally assisted housing program; and

WHEREAS

,

It is also difficult for an ex-offender to get housing in the private market because they often lack the financial resources for a security deposit, lack the employment and housing references for applications or may even appear in an internet search inquired by the landlord; and

WHEREAS, Ex-offenders may be ineligible for the TANF, SSI and Food Stamp benefits that they may otherwise be eligible for; and

WHEREAS, When reentering into their communities, ex-offenders often do not receive proper medical and substance abuse treatment and even lose their disability status; and

WHEREAS, In some states, criminal conviction can be a ground for termination of parental rights; and

WHEREAS, Criminal convictions may also be used to prevent ex-offenders from becoming a foster or adoptive parent, even if the crime was not relevant to parental abilities; and

WHEREAS, Those who have been convicted for the possession or sale of controlled substances may become ineligible for federal financial aid for higher education indefinitely; and

WHEREAS, Past convictions by legal residents have very severe immigration repercussions and can ultimately lead to deportation; and

WHEREAS, This is not an exhaustive list of the civil barriers that prevent ex-offenders from assimilating back into their communities but rather an introduction to the challenges ex-offenders face.

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That City Council hereby authorize City Council's Committee on Public Safety to hold a public hearing to investigate the challenges and barriers effecting individuals with criminal records.

Donna Reed Miller

Councilwoman - 8th District

February 10, 2011