By Jaboa Lake, Center for American Progress, April 15, 2020
As many as 1 in 3 people in the United States have criminal records, creating barriers across several domains. Certain groups in particular—including people of color, sexual minorities, transgender and nonbinary people, people with disabilities, people with serious mental illness, and people living in poverty—experience disproportionate, negative impacts related to the criminal legal system. These disparities reflect discriminatory policies that fuel systemic inequalities, burdening families for generations and perpetuating a cycle of poverty. Justice-involved people face more than 44,000 legal sanctions that can prevent them from getting a job, obtaining licenses, attaining and maintaining housing, qualifying for public assistance, pursuing higher education, engaging in civic participation, changing immigration status, and receiving custody of a minor, among many other restrictions. Additionally, people with criminal records face discrimination: 9 in 10 employers, 4 in 5 landlords, and 3 in 5 colleges and universities use background checks in hiring decisions. These impacts lead to higher rates of homelessness and unemployment, lower cumulative earnings, and difficulties pursing educational opportunities; they also create barriers to community integration.
The consequences of having a criminal record do not occur in isolation but have direct and substantial impacts for families and communities. These barriers undermine the five pillars of family well-being—income, savings and assets, education, housing, and family strength and stability—and, in turn, negatively affect family cohesion. As a result, people with records lose access to opportunities, driving and keeping their families in poverty across generations. In order to develop comprehensive policy solutions, lawmakers must consider these multigenerational impacts of a criminal record. This column explores in depth these particular ramifications for families and outlines current and needed efforts to mitigate these long-terms impacts.
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