Findings

Congress finds the following: (1) An estimated 70,000,000 people in the United States have some type of arrest or conviction record that would appear in a criminal background check. (2) Each year, more than 450,000 people return to society from State or Federal prison. (3) Nearly 8,000,000 people in the United States are admitted to city and county jails each year, with an average daily population of more than 650,000 people. (4) An estimated 500,000 arrests of youth under the age of 18 are made each year. (5) More than 650,000 juvenile delinquency cases are disposed of in juvenile courts annually. (6) Juvenile records are not always confidential. Many States disclose information about youth involvement with the juvenile justice system or do not have procedures to seal or expunge juvenile records. (7) The compounding effects of collateral consequences due to criminal justice involvement hinder the ability of individuals to reenter society successfully. (8) People of color and low-income people are disproportionately impacted by the collateral consequences of criminal justice involvement. (9) Incarceration leads to decreased earnings, unemployment, and poverty. (10) Upon reentry, lower educational attainment, a lack of work skills or history, and the stigma of a criminal record can hinder a formerly incarcerated person’s ability to return to their communities successfully. (11) One way to improve reentry outcomes is to increase educational opportunities for people with a criminal or juvenile justice history. (12) By reducing rearrests and reconvictions, and by increasing educational attainment, formerly incarcerated individuals are better situated to find stable employment, contributing to their communities.