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Background and Purpose: There is a great deal of research that explores how criminal records impact individuals and their families. Studies over time have shown how the impacts are seen most widely in areas of employment, finances, relationships, and social services. What is not as widely researched is the effect of automated record sealing legislation on individuals who possess a criminal record and their socio-familial support network. This presentation will help to fill the gap in the research by exploring the awareness, understanding, perceptions, and impact of Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate Act 56 of 2018, the first government initiated criminal record sealing law in the U.S.
Methods: This study followed a community-based participatory research methodology, forming an Alliance composed of individuals who have a criminal record, familial supports of those who have a criminal record, and social workers. Seventy-six in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with those who possess criminal records (n=27), their familial supporters (n=19), and social service workers (n=30), two of which were multi-participant interviews. Most participants identified as female (69% female; 29% male; 1% they/them). The majority of participants identified as Black or African American (57% Black/African American; 33% White; 6% Hispanic/Latino; 2% Bi-Racial/Multiracial; 1% Not Disclosed), and ages of participants ranged from 25-67. Participants were recruited through expungement clinics in Pennsylvania and the Alliance’s social and professional networks. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, theoretically coded in Dedoose, and thematically analyzed by the Alliance.
Findings: This research documents the multitude of negative impacts criminal records disproportionately have on Black individuals, families, and communities including limiting employment options (e.g., dangerous working conditions, substandard wages), the intergenerational burden on families (e.g., illegality of speaking with family members, no or limited opportunity to generate familial wealth), and the trauma inflicted across systems (e.g., incarceration, stigmatization, marginalization).
No policy can undo these harms. When comparing the incremental policy progress to the decades of racism, trauma, and injustice, the inadequacy of the PA Clean Slate policy is undeniable. PA Clean Slate appears to seal criminal records for individuals who are least impacted by their records, and there was no evidence this policy has a positive impact on Black and Brown communities. Professionals including lawyers, human resources professionals, and social workers are not aware of the policy, and/or they did not understand its intricacies further limiting its potential to have a positive impact.
This research also questions the normalized power those with position, property, and profits (e.g., government officials, landlords, employers) hold over fellow human beings with criminal records. Regardless of these abuses, people living with criminal records are extraordinarily creative and resourceful overcoming societal manufactured barriers, and there is a moral imperative to enact further structural change.
Conclusion and Implications: Our community-informed and owned policy recommendations are to expand Clean Slate legislation to a national level, include felonies, and expunge criminal records and to modify the penal code with a focus on racial justice. The Alliance is currently advocating for these policy changes and will share legislative materials and updates during the presentation.