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Walker: State Should “Ban The Box”

by Melinda Tuhus | Feb 1, 2010 1:13 pm

(10) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Social Services, State

Melinda Tuhus Photo On her way up to Hartford, Toni Walker ran into a homeless single father who claimed his criminal record prevents him from finding a job. Walker responded with a promise she plans to keep this week the first day of the new state legislative session.

Walker, a state representative from New Haven, intends on Wednesday to introduce a statewide version of New Haven’s “ban the box” law.

Walker encountered the homeless dad, Rick Goodjohn (pictured with her), last week at Christian Community Action’s family shelter on Sylvan Avenue.

She was there with two fellow New Haven state legislators, Gary Holder-Winfield and Martin Looney, for a breakfast with a half-dozen homeless and down-on-their luck people to hear their stories about trying to climb back.

Coincidentally, she’s already planning to introduce a proposal to help with the exact problem Goodjohn said he encountered: She wants the state to pass a “ban the box” law like New Haven’s to prevent job-seekers with criminal records from having doors slammed immediately in their faces.

“I became homeless as a result of suffering three heart attacks in 2008,” Goodjohn told Walker at the breakfast last Wednesday. “I am the single father of a 12-year-old who has been with me through everything.” He added that Christian Community Action was the only place that offered him and his son shelter.

Single homeless custodial fathers are rare, although another father and daughter made their way to the same shelter.

Goodjohn said he completed a training program through New Haven’s Employment Opportunities Commission but then couldn’t land a job. “I’ve been a thorn in their side,” calling often to see if staffers can find something for him. He said in the meantime he’s volunteering at his son’s school and becoming a parent advocate for improving education for all New Haven children.

It’s a common refrain in New Haven: The city has plenty of job training programs but not enough jobs, even from those programs that promise employment for graduates. Goodjohn joined a new CCA-spawned group that plans to survey people about their experiences with job training programs and share those results with legislators and making recommendations for improvement.

Goodjohn spoke as a member of the No More Crumbs Coalition, organized through CCA and Clifford Beers Guidance Clinic. The group is speaking to legislators, “advocating for funding for the safety net programs that keep people from slipping further into poverty and desperation,” according to Merryl Eaton, CCA’s advocacy director.

Kim Clark (pictured) committed several larcenies in order to pay her rent and utilities. Her last conviction was in 1998, but her record has haunted her. Although she’s a certified nursing assistant with some college credits, her job prospects have been slim. “I was working a mediocre job because I am a convicted felon,” she told the legislators. “But that does not define who I am today—that’s who I was.” (Read about Clark’s story here.)

Both Goodjohn and Clark said they believe their lack of success in finding a job was tied to their criminal records. They said if they could land an interview, prospective employers would hear about their accomplishments despite the odds, and their fierce commitment to improving their children’s lives. Then employers might be willing to take a chance on them.

Goodjohn said he served four years in prison on a conspiracy charge. He said he was implicated in a drug operation being run by his God-brother and didn’t turn him in.

Reached by phone after the Wednesday morning meeting, Walker said she plans to introduce the legislation this coming Wednesday—the first day of the 2010 legislative session. And since it’s a short session, bills must be introduced through committees. Walker, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, said New Haven State Sens. Toni Harp and Martin Looney will co-sponsor, along with New Haven State Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield.

Judiciary Committee Co-Chairman Mike Lawlor hadn’t yet heard about Walker’s plans. He said he supports the legislation. But it faces a big obstacle, he said—a $6 billion two-year hole in the state budget.

“This year it’s going to be hard to do anything at the Capitol that’s not related to the budget,” Lawlor predicted.

But he added, “The big picture is reducing crime, and one thing we know is that ex-offenders are a lot less likely to re-offend if they have a job.”

“I want to get the whole delegation to sponsor,” she said, but she hadn’t had a chance yet to consult with other New Haven state legislators.

A statewide “Ban the Box” proposal would be modeled on an ordinance passed in New Haven last February. The New Haven law requires the city and any vendor doing business with the city to remove the box from job applications asking if the applicant is a convicted felon.

The idea behind the proposal is to avoid eliminating any potentially qualified candidates right off the bat. Employers can ask that question closer to the time a job may be proffered and may not use a candidate’s criminal record to eliminate him or her from consideration unless the crime committed is relevant to the position. For example, when asked how the city’s ordinance is working out, Prison Re-entry Coordinator Amy Meek said of the hundreds of vendors who have negotiated or re-negotiated contracts with the city, only two have asked for and been granted waivers; one was an armored car company. (The other was a multinational corporation of which only a segment of its business is with the city.)

State Sen. Looney (pictured) had another suggestion for Goodjohn and Clark: that ex-felons might want to apply for a pardon. He said the more time that’s elapsed since conviction (12 years, in Clark’s case), and the longer one had a chance to live a crime-free life, the better one’s chances for a pardon. That would erase the person’s felony record. So a job applicant could honestly say he or she has no record. It’s not an easy process. Eaton said when CCA held a pardon workshop, lots of people came, but only a few filled out the 35-page application.

Walker said at a legislative workshop last week presented by the Department of Correction, lawmakers were told the number of inmates released into the community (including those on parole, in halfway houses and on re-entry furloughs) has increased 23 percent over the previous year. “I asked if we have any increase in services,” she said, “and the answer was, ‘We have a decrease in services.’”

When asked about the numbers, DOC spokesman Brian Garnett said in a phone interview that supervision of those individuals has increased. Regarding services, he said, “We reconfigured the budget to get the biggest bang for the buck,” despite a drop in funding.

The state discharged 11,703 end-of-sentence prisoners in 2009, according to Garnett.

Walker said many groups that deal with released inmates—including Community Action Agency, Mothers for Justice, Columbus House and Fellowship Place—have stressed the importance of the issue. “Our state is overwhelmed with people who have been incarcerated and cannot regain their families or get employment. We can no longer ignore it and we have to make long-term plans” for dealing with it.

Comments

posted by: Mary on February 1, 2010 2:47pm

I agree that people who have criminal records should be able to find jobs, but I don’t think their records should just be cleared immediately after they exit prison/jail or are finished with probation.
Give it a time frame and make getting a clear record a reward for living a life that does not involve crime. Finish probation (if required) and then if the person has a clean record for five years or more then the record will be expunged.

posted by: Patricia Kane on February 1, 2010 4:45pm

It is possible to apply for a Pardon to clear a criminal record. A lot of paperwork is involved, but it is worth applying. Contact the Probation Dept or the local bar association for information on where to start.

posted by: Margaret Middleton on February 1, 2010 5:59pm

I am thrilled to hear this idea. I work with military veterans, and old criminal convictions prevent many of my clients from getting any work. These people are often parents who have made awe-inspiring efforts to overcome addictions and mental illnesses and are eager to get out there and earn a paycheck. In addition to “banning the box” on the state level, I hope these brave legislators will use their pulpits to start a conversation with other employers about why so many of them seem to categorically refuse to hire qualified people with criminal records, even when those records are entirely unrelated to the position. Is this driven by liability insurers?

posted by: Morris Cove Mom on February 1, 2010 8:19pm

I say keep the box. But…if I had a business, I might be more inclined to hire someone with a record of non-violent offense(s), as they might actually care about their job more. To not ask, to not know seems insane to me. You would want to know if you are interviewing a convicted arsonist, as you wouldn’t want your fire insurance to go up, or hire someone guilty of rape if you ran a daycare. But to not give someone a second chance is an issue unto itself. These are employers focused on the business of making money, and not the business of hiring people, real people.

posted by: City Hall Watch on February 1, 2010 8:52pm

Getting a pardon doesn’t mean you don’t have a record. Why would Looney suggest such a thing? And further suggest that people lie about the decisions and actions they’ve taken that has harmed others? What happens if the employer finds out after the fact that their employee lied about their criminal history? Now what does that say about the employee? There is no easy road back and there is no action that government can do to erase bad decisions or the continued fall out from them.

posted by: Gretchen Pritchard on February 1, 2010 9:06pm

@ Morris Cove Mom,

If you read the article carefully, you will see that “ban the box” does not mean an employer is never allowed to ask whether the applicant has been convicted of a felony. It only means they can’t ask it at the very first stage of the application process. That levels the playing field for candidates to make it to the interview stage on the strength of the rest of their resume. If they do make it to an interview, the employer is free to ask about their criminal record.

posted by: jay on February 2, 2010 12:13pm

There are so many churches and community groups with money/food/resources to help people out. Stealing is easier and so is crying victim. Do what you can afford, so don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time. Does either of the two folklore sound familiar? The box is there to keep people like me and my wallet safer at work.

posted by: Ms.K on February 2, 2010 4:33pm

“Ban the Box” is a great idea in theory. But offenders who have not committed a crime in 3-5 years or more are still less likely to obtain employment. As soon as an employer hears the phrase “convicted felon” in an interview, in many cases, the interview is over, even if it was a non-violent offense, and occured many years ago. There is a notion that people are given second chances. There is federal and state funding for re-entry services, the Second Chance Act. But if people do not change their mindset and truly offer a second chance to those who have made mistakes, the “Ban the Box” is no more than another ineffective policy measure.

posted by: Consti2amend on February 6, 2010 3:54pm

If the state and federal government have programs for re-integrating felons into society, why does New Haven have one also? Isn’t this just a waste of taxpayer’s money? I mean, aren’t we just duplicating what is already there?

A side note; Why should we “ban the box”? It would be a waste of time to go through the process, only to find out later, after spending HOW MUCH MONEY AND EFFORT, to find a convicted felon wants to work with/for me?
BTW, what IF, during the research of a candidate, we find out about the felony? Should it be considered? Aren’t they, the felon, going to lose out even more, by NOT informing a potential employer ahead of time?

Why not ADD a/some box(es)? 1. How long ago were you convicted? 2. How long was your sentence? 3. How long were you actually in jail? 4. How long have you been out? 5. What did you do with your time, while in jail?

Just a few questions for starters.

posted by: NewHavenerToo on February 7, 2010 8:29pm

This is ridiculous. I’m NOT sorry to say that I don’t feel sorry for convicted felons. I’ve heard many a time the story of stealing for rent and uitility bills. When a person commits a crime (or better yet, several) then they continue to pay for it after the fact for many many years. I was raised in a single parent household in the Hill Neighborhood. We lived in one of the worst houses on Morris Street and for SOME strange reason, MY parent never stole.

Ms Clark, I don’t feel sorry for you.

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