Currently, the Local Government Labor Regulatory Limitation Act prohibits local governments from maintaining policies that regulate the information an employer must request, require, or exclude from an application for employment. Senate Bill 353 (SB 353), introduced by Senator John Proos (R – District 21), amends the Act to allow local governments to adopt policies that [...]
The Governor signed the full budget, which outlines the 2018 fiscal year budget for the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC), on July 14. The final budget is $17.5 million below the budget proposed by the Governor earlier this year. According to Kyle Kaminski, MDOC legislative liaison, the final budget does not include the closure of prisons or [...]
Troy Rienstra, CAPPS organizer, helped convene a July 1, 2017, training for organizations working to assist underserved crime survivors in the Grand Rapids area. Aqeela Sherrills, national training director for the Alliance for Safety and Justice, provided an in-depth explanation of how crime survivors are working to pursue policies that promote safer communities and help crime [...]
Currently, the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) is prohibited from hiring people with a prior conviction or pending charges. House Bill 4065 (HB 4065), introduced by Rep. David Pagel (R – District 78), removes the prohibition and requires the MDOC to establish a hiring policy for these individuals. The bill does not require the MDOC [...]
On May 30, Rep. Klint Kesto (R-District 39), House of Representatives Law and Justice Committee chair, took testimony from crime survivors calling for investments in systems that help crime survivors heal and create safe communities. Aswad Thomas provided powerful testimony about his experience as a crime survivor. He grew up playing basketball in Detroit. In [...]
Column: Focus on rehabilitation in prison At the age of 10, I senselessly lost my best friend to gun violence. Even as an elementary school student, Reubin Elder represented something bigger to us. Reubin was a popular and straight-A student who tragically died in a random drive-by shooting in our Highland Park neighborhood. So much [...]
On May 9, business leaders and representatives from two major business associations testified before House of Representatives Law and Justice Committee, at the invitation of the chair, Rep. Kesto (R – District 39). Cascade Engineering, Abcor Industries, Mercy/Trinity Health, Business Leaders for Michigan and Talent 2025 discussed the need to increase the available workforce and [...]
Convicts leaving incarceration often have a difficult time re-entering the working world because, according to one survey, 65 percent of employers would never consider hiring someone with a felony record. And there are other barriers to employment. For instance, John SCHWARTZ of Trinity Health-Michigan told the story of one hospital employee who was arrested for a drunk driving [...]
On May 2, Barbara Levine, CAPPS associate director, and John Cooper, CAPPS policy director, testified before House of Representatives Law and Justice Committee, at the invitation of the chair, Rep. Kesto (R – District 39). Cooper identified the policies that fueled Michigan’s prison growth over recent decades. We currently incarcerate about 41,000 individuals at a [...]
Last month Governor Rick Snyder re-appointed Barbara Levine, associate director for policy and research, to the Criminal Justice Policy Commission. The next meeting is May 3, 2017 at 9:00am hosted in the Senate Appropriations Room, 3rd Floor, of the State Capitol Building in Lansing, Michigan.