REAP Resources

• Clearinghouse
• Fact Sheet, Obama White House
• Fair Chance Act Campaign, NYC Human Rights Commission
• Fair Chance Pledge, Obama White House
• Fair Shake: ReEntry Resource Center
• Hiring Incentives for Employers and Success Stories, Justice Center
• National Hire Network
• National Inventory of Collateral, Justice Center
• National Inventory of Collateral Consequences of Criminal Conviction, Justice Center
• National ReEntry Resource Center
• Prison Studies Project
• Reentry Net Library
• Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
• Taking Action: Continuing the “Pathways to Prosperity” Conversation in Your Jurisdiction, National Reentry Resource Center
• The Council of State Governments, Justice Center

• A Healthcare Employer Guide to Hiring People with Arrest and Conviction Records, National Employment Law Project and the Safer Foundation
• California Employer's Fair Chance Hiring Toolkit, Root and Rebound
• Career Prospects for People with Criminal Records: How Do People Stop Committing Crimes?, RAND
• Equity in Action: How Toyota & Kelly Are Knocking Down Criminal History Barriers, Kelly Services
• Fair-chance Hiring in Philanthropy: A Step-by-step Guide, National Employment Law Project
• Find a Workforce Development Board, Career One Stop
• Getting Talent Back to Work, SHRM
• How Employers Can Set Formerly Incarcerated Workers Up for Success, Harvard Business Review
• Next Chapter: A Proposed Blueprint for Action: How to Build On-ramps to Tech Careers for Formerly Incarcerated and Re-entering Individuals, Slack
• Research: Employers Willing to Overlook a Criminal Record to Hire the Right Person, SHRM
• The Right Step Employers’ Toolkit, Business in the Community
• Workers with Criminal Records, SHRM

• Advancing Racial Equity (course), Programs in Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School
• Reforming Mass Incarceration and the Role of Business (course), Columbia Business School
• Reentry Simulation (online), Columbia University
• ​​​​Fair Chance Hiring Training, MADE Transitional Services

• Back to Business: How Hiring Formerly Incarcerated Job Seekers Benefits Your Company, Trone Center for Justice and Equality
• Connecticut Employer Survey, Malta Justice Initiative
• Fried Chicken Restaurant is Dishing out Second Chances, The Marshall Project
• Hiring Ex-Offenders is Good Business:  A Guide to Tax Credits and Federal Bonding Benefits for Maryland Businesses, Job Opportunities Task Force
• Out of Prison & Out of Work: Unemployment Among Formerly Incarcerated People, Prison Policy Initiative
• Research Supports Fair-Chance Policies, National Employment Law Project
• The Federal Bonding Program, US Department of Labor
• Work Opportunity Tax Credit, US Department of Labor
• You're Hired! Encouraging the Employment of Ex-Offenders, Policy Exchange

• A Case for Giving Ex-Offenders a Second Chance, SHRM
• Employing Ex-Offenders to Capture Talent, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
• Evaluating Job Applicants with Criminal Histories, SHRM
• Hiring People with Criminal Backgrounds Is Easier Than You Think, SHRM
• More Employers Letting Candidates Explain Conviction Records, SHRM

• How to Select a Reliable Background Screening Company, National Workrights Institute
• Beyond the Record: A Justice-Oriented Approach to Background Checks, John Jay College
• Additional Information:
  • An Employer's Guide to Compliance with New York Correction Law, Article 23-A, Frank A. Cania, M.S.Emp.L., SPHR
  • Background Checks: What Employers Need to Know, Federal Trade Commission
  • Best Practices Standards: The Proper Use of Criminal Records in Hiring, National Hire Network, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, National Workrights Institute
  • Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
  • How Criminal Background Checks Lead to Discrimination Against Millions of Americans, The Washington Post
  • How to Conduct Compliant Criminal Background Investigations, SHRM
  • NELP - Ban the Box, National Employment Law Project
  • Pre-employment Inquiries and Arrest & Conviction, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
  • Toolkit: Conducting Background Investigations and Reference Checks, SHRM
    *SHRM membership account required
  • When Background Screens Turn Up Criminal Records, SHRM

• How to Address Negligent Hiring Concerns, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
• Negligent Hiring and Criminal Rehabilitation, Social Science Research Network (SSRN)
• Out of Jail and Out of Luck, Florida Law Review

• A Presumption of Guilt | by Bryan Stevenson, New York Times
• There's Racial Bias in Our Police Systems. Here's the Overwhelming Proof, Washington Post
• Visualizing the Racial Disparities in Mass Incarceration, Prison Policy Initiative
• Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America, Ben & Jerry’s and Vox Creative

• Defunding the Police, The Tamer Center for Social Enterprise
• Defund the Police? Here’s What That Really Means, The Washington Post
• Gatekeepers: The Role of Police in Ending Mass Incarceration, Vera Institute
• Policing and Profit, Harvard Law Review
• Organizations
  • Campaign Zero is a comprehensive platform of research-based policy solutions to end police brutality in America.

• Bail Reform, Which Could Save Millions of Innocent People From Jail, Explained, Vox
• Justice for the Rich, Money Bail, Justice in America Podcast
• Unlocking the Black Box of Prosecution, Vera Institute
• Organizations/Additional Resources
  • Winning Justice is part of the prosecutor accountability movement ending the most unjust, unconstitutional, destructive and racist practices of prosecutors.
  • Bail Funds/Legal Help by City, Civic Hall
  • The Sentencing Project has worked for a fair and effective US criminal justice system for 30 years.

• A Judge Asked Harvard to Find Out Why So Many Black People Were In Prison. They Could Only Find 1 Answer: Systemic Racism, The Root
• How Incarceration Infects a Community, The Atlantic
• Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2020, PPI
• What We Mean When We Say Abolish Prisons, Rewire
• Organizations
  • Center for Justice at Columbia University is committed to ending mass incarceration and criminalization, and advancing alternative approaches to justice and safety through education, research, and policy change.
  • Equal Justice Initiative works to end mass incarceration, excessive punishment, and racial inequality.
  • Osborne Association offers programs for people who have been in conflict with the law and their families in the state of New York.
  • Release Aging People in Prison (RAPP) Campaign works to end mass incarceration and promote racial justice through the release from prison of older and aging people and those serving long and life sentences.
  • Root & Rebound, a Tamer Fund for Social Ventures portfolio member founded by Katherine Katcher, ’07CC, works to create a world where people impacted by mass criminalization have full restoration of their rights so that they can move forward with hope, dignity, and opportunity.
  • Vera Institute of Justice works to secure equal justice, end mass incarceration, and strengthen families and communities across America.
  • Youth Represent is dedicated to improving the lives and futures of young people affected by the criminal justice system.

• College Behind Bars, PBS Series
• Employment After Incarceration: Fair Chance Hiring in the COVID-19 Era, Brookings webinar, with an introduction by Senator Cory Booker
• Next Chapter: A Proposed Blueprint for Action: How to Build On-ramps to Tech Careers for Formerly Incarcerated and Re-entering Individuals, Slack
• Out of Prison & Out of Work: Unemployment Among Formerly Incarcerated People, PPI
• The ‘Surreal’ Moment After Release From Prison, The New York Times
• What CEOs Can Do to Advance Racial Justice, Inc.

Take part in a 60-minute orientation and facilitate mock interviews with Osborne members involved in the organization's career center.

• Time commitment: Volunteer orientation and one-hour sessions.
• Learn more or contact [email protected].

Be listeners, guides and role models to Hour Women as they navigate the many challenges of their return home.

• Time commitment: Contact Hour Children for details.
• Learn more or contact [email protected].

Train and work with parole applicants to develop comprehensive release plans, create compelling advocacy materials, and practice interviewing skills.

• Time commitment: Volunteer training and 3-5 hours per week for 8-12 months 
• Learn more or contact [email protected].

Train and observe court proceedings, in order to report and enable greater accountability in the criminal legal system.

• Time commitment: Contact Court Watch for details.
• Learn more or contact [email protected].

Support JTC students to further develop their technical skillset and exposure to the various specialization areas within tech.

• Time commitment: Mentor orientation and two hours per week for three months.
• Learn more or contact [email protected].

Receive training on guidelines for maintaining healthy correspondence, and ongoing advice on building relationships with people in solitary through letters, cards, and a special print newsletter, reminding them that they have not been forgotten by the outside world.

• Time commitment: Flexible.
• Learn more or contact [email protected].