WHEREAS, Second Chance Month is a nationwide initiative celebrated by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs to raise awareness about the challenges faced by individuals returning to society after incarceration; and
WHEREAS, Second Chance Month was founded by Prison Fellowship in 2017, the nation’s largest nonprofit serving incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals and their families, and promotes justice reform and encourages public awareness of the challenges faced by people returning from incarceration; and
WHEREAS, Over 300,000 Philadelphians, disproportionately Black and Hispanic, have a criminal record, which can make second chances difficult by limiting access to employment, housing, and other essential needs; and
WHEREAS, The national movement to limit when employers can inquire about an applicant or employee’s criminal history, also known as “Ban the Box” or “Fair Chance Hiring”, began in San Francisco in 2005 and was founded by All of Us or None, a grassroots organization of currently and formerly incarcerated individuals and their families; and
WHEREAS, The Federal government, nearly three-fourths of states, and over 150 cities and counties have adopted fair chance hiring policies, receiving broad support from both Democrats and Republicans; and
WHEREAS, Fair chance hiring policies are rooted in voluminous research showing that employment is a key reducer of recidivism and that years-old criminal records are no longer useful in determining whether a potential employee is a risk to business or public safety; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia has been a national leader in giving second chances, becoming the first city in 2011 to enact fair chance hiring legislation that applied to all employers; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia’s current fair chance hiring law gives people with arrest records, juvenile records, expunged or sealed records, records for convictions for which a person was later exonerated, and convictions older than seven years a second chance by prohibiting employers from considering these records; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia has adopted fair chance hiring policies that the National Employment Law Project has recognized as best practices, including limiting when an employer can conduct a background check until after they make a conditional offer; and
WHEREAS, In 2019, Philadelphia established the Office of Reentry Partnerships, which provides critical support for people returning to society from jails and prisons through its Neighborhood Resource Centers, Juvenile Reentry Programming, Pushing Progress Philly community violence intervention initiative, and Behind the Walls Initiatives; and
WHEREAS, The Office of Reentry Partnerships also coordinates the Philadelphia Reentry Coalition, whose more than 220 members include service providers, employers, and federal,
state, and local officials; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia continues to strive to be a city of second chances and economic opportunity for all; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby declare April 2025 as Second Chance Month in the City of Philadelphia.
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