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Unlicensed & Untapped: Removing Barriers to State Occupational Licenses for People with Records (2016)

Rodriguez, Michelle Natividad and Beth Avery. National Employment Law Project.

This paper examines the significant flaws in state occupational licensing criminal background check requirements. One barrier to employment that regularly appears in state occupational licensing laws is the blanket ban, which automatically disqualifies people with certain records. In response to this barrier and others, a comprehensive overhaul of licensing laws is recommended.

Strategies for Full Employment Through Reform of the Criminal Justice System (2015)

Emsellem, Maurice and Jason Ziedenberg. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Public sentiment and political forces are finally shifting in favor of criminal justice reform, and a wave of promising state and local policies, such as California’s Proposition 47 and fair chance hiring laws, have moved the public debate and brought key stakeholders to the table, including the law enforcement community. With this paper, we seek to broaden the debate by engaging advocates for full employment and promoting a comprehensive agenda for reform.

Examining Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Probation Revocation (2014)

Racial and ethnic disparity is pervasive in the American criminal justice system. This is particularly stark for blacks, who despite constituting just 13 percent of the US population, account for 30 percent of adult probationers, 37 percent of jail inmates, 38 percent of prisoners, and 40 percent of parolees. Such disparities have broad consequences, from impacts on the health and functioning of minority communities to perceptions of the legitimacy of the criminal justice system.

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