We All Benefit from a Clean Slate for Minor Criminal Records
Over the past two decades, even the most minor criminal convictions have become lifetime barriers to the necessities of life…
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Using Innovation to Address Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System
Reflections from CLS Deputy Director of Operations and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Brenda Marrero on racial injustice.
Summary Offenses in Pennsylvania
Learn more about expungements in general. Learn more about finding work with a criminal record WHAT IS A SUMMARY OFFENSE?…
Report: Supporting Women in the Criminal Legal System Through Access to Diversionary Programs
Today, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, as part of Incarcerated Women’s Working Group (“Working Group”) released a report on increasing…
Report: Pennsylvania Clean Slate: Delivering on Its Promises
Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate law, Act 56 of 2018, was passed to bring criminal record sealing to scale by the use…
Report: Breaking Down Barriers to Record Clearing – A Survey of the Field
Clearing criminal records can be life-changing, leading to employment, higher wages, housing, educational opportunities, and more. For the one in…
Proposed Regulations Threaten to Undermine Occupational Licensing Reform Law
During the height of the pandemic in 2020, the Pennsylvania General Assembly made a priority of approving Act 53, known…
Pennsylvania Needs Clean Slate Expansion
On April 26, 2023, CLS and a bipartisan coalition of criminal justice advocates and state lawmakers went to Harrisburg to…
PA House Passes Clean Slate Expansion!
PA House Votes 189-14 to Expand Clean Slate to Felony Records! On June 5, 2023, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives…
Report: Reforming the Child Abuse Registry System in Pennsylvania
Every year thousands of Pennsylvanians are placed on the child abuse registry for alleged child abuse or neglect, without first…
Support Removal of Criminal Records Barriers to Occupational Licensing
Thousands of Pennsylvanians face legal barriers to occupational licenses based on their criminal records. With over two dozen professions requiring…
Report: Making Occupational Licensing Reform in Pennsylvania a Reality
Pennsylvania’s Occupational Licensing Reform Law (Act 53 of 2020) was signed into law in 2020 with the goal of opening…
Have a Criminal Record? This New Law May Help You Get Work in Pennsylvania
Many people in Pennsylvania have trained for a career, or have thought about pursuing a new profession, only to be…
New Pennsylvania Law Allows Old and Minor Convictions to be Sealed
As of November 14, 2016, people with certain misdemeanor convictions can ask the court to seal their record. A sealed record will…
The Heavy Price for Restoring One’s Name: Court Debt Bars Record Clearing
Contact with the criminal legal system comes with a price tag that a growing number of Americans cannot afford to…
“Harnessing Technology” Conference Launches National Clean Slate Campaign
In 2018, Governor Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania signed the Clean Slate Act. With its signing, Pennsylvania became the first state
