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On Tuesday, September 28, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. (ET) Diversity and Inclusion Subcommittee Chairwoman Beatty and Ranking Member Wagner will host a hybrid hearing entitled, “Access Denied: Eliminating Barriers and Increasing Economic Opportunity for Justice-Involved Individuals."
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Witnesses for this one-panel hearing will be:
• Sakira Cook, Sr. Director of the Justice Reform Program, The Leadership Conference of Civil and Human Rights
• Jeffery Korzenik, Author, Untapped Talent
• Dolfinette Martin, Housing Director, Operation Restoration
• Melissa Sorenson, Executive Director of the Professional Background Screening Association
• Marie Claire Tran-Leung, Director of Legal Impact Network, Shriver Center on Poverty Law
Overview
Nearly one in three U.S. adults has a prior arrest or conviction record. Justice-involved individuals are often confronted with collateral consequences, including barriers to securing housing, accessing credit, and finding employment. These consequences often follow people long after their involvement with the criminal justice system. Justice-involved individuals also have trouble accessing banking services, such as bank accounts and loans, because of a lack of appropriate identification, thin credit profiles, and discrimination based on one’s criminal record. Further, justice-involved individuals are often limited from working in the financial services industry depending on the nature of and length of time since their prior convictions. The employment barriers faced by this community cost the U.S. economy between $78 billion and $87 billion each year. Lack of housing and stable employment are risk factors for recidivism. This hearing will explore the myriad of challenges faced by those who are justice-involved and how such barriers disproportionately affect persons of color.
Employment Barriers
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, returning citizens, or persons who were formerly incarcerated, faced a 27 percent unemployment rate in the U.S.—nearly five times higher than the unemployment rate...
Hearing page: https://financialservices.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=408304
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