SILENT DISCRIMNATION

EX-OFFENDERS: NAVIGATING RE-ENTRY

Every day thousands of needy people across the nation are being shunned, simply because they are from the class of

citizens known as ex-offenders. Society has chosen to punish this group past the point that the law allows. With few options, due to lack of living wage jobs and/or safe

affordable housing, many of these people will do nothing more than to live in quiet obscurity. Shielded from the light of happiness by the shadow of their past, victims are born

all over again.

Ex-Offender – a person with a past conviction of a crime.

STATISTICS

The United States has the largest prison population in the world. 2,220,300 people were incarcerated in the adult correctional system at year end 2013. (Glaze &Kaeble 2014)

In Texas, in 2013, 508,000 offenders were on some form of correctional supervision with 221,800 of them incarcerated. In 2014, 70,521 offenders were released from custody in Texas. There were 26,647 offenders incarcerated in Harris County in 2014, and 13,466 offenders were released back into Harris County in the same year. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice 2015)

The Vera Institute of Justice reported in 2015 that jails throughout the United States have become warehouses for the poor, the mentally ill and those suffering from addiction. Such individuals lack the financial means or mental capacity to post bail. (Williams 2015)

AREAS OF DISCRIMINATION

CIVIL LIBERITIES

EDUCATION

EMPLOYMENT

HOUSING

SOCIAL SERVICES

CIVIL LIBERITIESUnited States Constitution

Amendment 2 - A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment 14 – 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Amendment 26 – 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Texas Constitution - Article 1 Sec. 3. Bill Of Rights — Equal Rights - All free men, when they form a social compact, have equal rights, and no man, or set of men, is entitled to exclusive separate public emoluments, or privileges, but in consideration of public services.

Equal rights for "all free men" does not apply to convicted felons

EDUCATION

In 1994, Congress outlawed Students who are incarcerated in a state or federal penal institution from receiving a Pell Grant or a federal student loan. (Taylor 2008)

Texas Education Code - §54.633. Tuition And Fees — Prepaid Higher Education Tuition Scholarships For Students - (a) To the extent money is available, the board or the board of a direct-support organization established by the board under Subsection (e) may award a prepaid higher education tuition scholarship to a student who meets: (b) A scholarship awarded under this section terminates if the student to whom the scholarship is awarded is: (1) convicted of, or adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent conduct constituting, an offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code; or (2) convicted of, or adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent conduct constituting, a felony or Class A misdemeanor. (Texas State Law Library 2015)

FAFSA -if you were convicted for the possession or sale of illegal drugs and the offense happened while you were enrolled in school and receiving federal student aid (grants, loans, and/or work-study), your eligibility to receive federal student aid is suspended. (Texas State Law Library 2015)

HOUSING & SOCIAL SERVICES Harris County Housing for ex-offenders

51 total facilities

3 accept men, 1 accepts men that are not substance abusers

1 accepts women, 2 accept women with substance abuse only, 1 accepts women that are not substance abusers

1 facility accepts both men and women

Out of these facilities only 62 beds for ex-offenders. Some are free, while others require payment. (Harris County Housing Resource Center 2015)

The majority of apartments and property management companies will not rent to ex-offenders.

Social Services Restrictions

Not eligible to adopt through a state agency

Not eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

Not eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the welfare program

Not eligible for government funded housing programs

Not eligible for SSI, Supplemental Security Income

EMLOYMENT Employment is the most important issue regarding the integration of ex-offenders into

society and reduction of recidivism.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964SEC. 2000e-2. [Section 703] - (a) Employer practices - It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer - (1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or 2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 2015)

Guidance policies from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission deter companies from discriminatory practices. Results from a criminal background check must be approached with fairness, taking into account such factors as the nature of the offense, the age of the offense and the relationship of the offense to the job. U.S. (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 2015) There has never been an agency to monitor these guidance policies.

EMPLOYMENT

69% of organizations in U.S. conduct criminal checks on all job candidates

18% conducted them on selected candidates.

What discoveries would lead to a decision not to extend a job offer?

96% of respondents said a convicted violent felony

74% said convicted nonviolent felony. SMISH

Employment background checks usually go back seven years, but can cover a lifetime.

(Society for Human Resource Management 2012)

http://www.abacollateralconsequences.org/search/?jurisdiction=45

ReferencesHarris County Housing Resource Center. 2015. Transitional Housing by Specific Situation. Retrieved July 21, 2015 (http://www.hrc.hctx.net/OutlineTransitionalHousing.html)

Lauren E. Glaze and Danielle Kaeble 2014. U.S. Department of JusticeOffice of Justice Programs. 2013. Correctional Populations in the United States 2013. Washington DC: Bureau of Justice Statistic. Retrieved July 10, 2015 (http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=5177)

Society for Human Resource Management. 2012. “SHRM Finds Fewer Employers Using Background Checks in Hiring.” Alexandria, VA: Society for Human Resource Management. Retrieved July 10, 2015 (http://www.shrm.org/about/pressroom/pressreleases/pages/backgroundchecks.asp).

Taylor, John Marc. 2008. “PELL GRANTS FOR PRISONERS: Why Should We Care?” The Cell Door. Volume 8, Issue 1. Retrieved July 10, 2015 (http://www.lairdcarlson.com/celldoor/00801/index.htm

Texas Department of Criminal Justice. 2015. Statistical Report Fiscal Year 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2015 (http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/documents/Statistical_Report_FY2014.pdf

Texas State Law Library. 2015. Felony Restrictions by Code, Education Code. Retrieved July 21, 2015 (http://www.sll.texas.gov./library- resources/collections/study/statutory-restrictions-on-convicted felons/code/?code=7)

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 2015. Laws Enforced by EEOC. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). Retrieved July 13, 2015 (http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statues/titlevii.cfm).

Williams, Timothy. 2015. “Jails Have Become Warehouses for the Poor, Ill and Addicted, a Report Says.” The New York Times, February 11, pp. A19. Retrieved July 10, 2015 (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/11/us/jails-havebecome-warehouses-for-the- poor-ill-and-addicted-a- report- says.html?_r=0).