Devah Pager: One thing would be to promote the role of intermediaries. Groups like CEO can service a link between ex-offenders and employers, help with job training, supervision, placement, and build relationships. I think that is a very critical part of the transition process. ...Promoting incentives and offering better protection for employers would also help, and reducing liabilities and putting caps on liabilities, removing some of the bureaucratic requirements.
We have to move toward a system of limitations for information providers of criminal records. Right now it’s kind of this free-for-all. There is no oversight on the quality or accuracy of records that are being disseminated.
What do you think are the strengths of the Second Chance Act?
Jeremy Travis: The number one strength is that it’s an example of federal leadership. The money is modest, but the money is less important than the fact that the federal government is saying that America has to take responsibility for the safe return of hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens. In addition to that, the Act funds demonstration projects and will support the testing of ideas. It calls upon all the federal agencies to review the policies and procedures that might be barriers to successful re-entry. This becomes a model for how states should be doing it. In my writing I have highlighted a number of ways in which the federal government and our congress has made re-entry more difficult and increased the risks. Another piece of the Second Chance Act, which is very important, is that it calls upon the federal government to do some basic data collection to research the phenomenon. That is long overdue.
