President Obama to Congress: ‘ban the box’

President Barack Obama is posed to announce new actions Monday aimed at helping formerly incarcerated people reintegrate into society, the White House said.

In a trip to Newark, N.J., Obama visited a residential drug-treatment center, Integrity House, to highlight efforts to ease the re-entry of offenders leaving prison.

He then convened a roundtable discussion at the Newark campus of Rutgers University with Sen.

“All these criminal justice reforms he’s talking about, none of them are issues of his”. In state prisons nationwide, there are more than 1.3 million – six times the federal number.

Speaking to reporters in Camden, Christie said Obama was attempting to take credit for reforms he wasn’t party to. “We thank President Obama, Senator Booker, and Mayor Baraka for their vision and bold leadership on this vital civil rights issue”.

Among the President’s priorities is exploring how the federal government can help former inmates break the cycle of recidivism, and successfully re-enter society.

“Obama told the crowd that one of his goals is “…to put more money in the system.

The Sentencing Commission, an independent agency, a year ago released new guidelines that mean a total of 46,000 inmates are eligible for early release.

All three Democratic presidential candidates have already pledged their support for the “ban the box” policy. Under the new order, the feds can still ask about an applicant’s record but must wait until later in the interview and hiring process. “That’s bad not only for those individuals, it’s bad for our economy, and it’s bad for the communities that desperately need more role models who are gainfully employed”.

By reducing overlong sentences for nonviolent drug offenses, the bill would also free up additional resources for investments in other public safety initiatives, including reentry services, programs for mental illness and addiction, and state and local law enforcement. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will release guidance today to Public Housing Authorities and owners of HUD-assisted housing regarding the use of arrests in determining who can live in HUD-assisted properties.

“We commend the president for wanting to ban the box”, Day continued. We are encouraged that Congress is considering bipartisan legislation that would “ban the box” for federal hiring and hiring by federal contractors.

The Office of Personnel Management also is being directed to modify its rules where it can in order to delay probes into criminal background until later in the hiring process.

“Having millions of people in the criminal justice system, without any ability to find a job after release, is unsustainable”, he said. Obama will announce the measures in full, which also includes educational and training programs for the formerly jailed as well.

A new “National Clean Slate Clearinghouse” will allow certain released prisoners to seal or wipe clean their records.

Permanent Supportive Housing for the Reentry Population through Pay for Success.

WatchVICE’s special report on the American criminal justice system over on HBO. PFS is an innovative form of performance contracting for the social sector through which government only pays if results are achieved.