BACKGROUND
Criminal records, both juvenile and adult, have a significant impact on an individual’s ability to obtain academic degrees, find work, and secure affordable housing. Barriers to housing, education, employment, health care, and insurance are chief among the tangible consequences. A criminal offense on one’s record keeps an individual from fully realizing his or her potential.
Juvenile reentry strategies too often do not include legal services, and the legal aid community often lacks resources to independently address expungement and collateral consequences. In response, HUD and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) are joining forces through the JRAP program to expand the opportunities of: 1) current public housing resident youth up to 24 years old who have a criminal record and/or 2) former household members (who are youth up to 24 years old) of current public housing residents who, but for their criminal record, would be living in public housing.
HUD and the DOJ will award approximately $1.75 million in grants of up to $100,000 each to support successful transitions into communities around the country by youth with criminal or juvenile records. HUD expects to make approximately 18 awards nationally under this grant. If HACCC's application is successful, its primary responsibilities will be grant oversight and conducting outreach to public housing residents to identify eligible individuals. CCCPD's primary responsibilities will be to work with eligible individuals to expunge/seal/correct their juvenile and criminal records. All services must be in accord with state law and services will not be made available to those with criminal records for making methamphetamine on public housing property, with criminal records of sex offenders on the lifetime sex offender registry and for those with criminal records where the crime was domestic violence or a Part I Violent Crime. HUD estimates that the grants will become effective on April 1, 2016 and will end on September 30, 2017.
HACCC and the Public Defender's office were first made aware of this grant opportunity on December 3, 2015, by the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) and decided to pursue the grant about one week later. LSC is an independent nonprofit established by Congress in 1974 to provide financial support for civil legal aid to low-income Americans. Because the application deadline of January 4, 2016 was prior to an available Board meeting, HACCC submitted the grant application with the understanding that if the Board did not approve, the application would be withdrawn. Also, since HUD required an existing partnership as a condition of eligibility, HACCC and CCCPD signed an MOU to provide services under this grant. The MOU is not effective if the grant is not awarded. The MOU is attached to this Board Order.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funding for this program is provided by HUD and will not exceed $100,000. Of this amount, $93,000 will go to CCCPD to fund direct legal services and $7,000 will go to HACCC to fund outreach.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION
Should the Board of Commissioners not ratify the submission of the JRAP application and the attached MOU, staff will withdraw the existing application.
CLERK'S ADDENDUM