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Reentry Resource Center - New York

Serving People from Arrest to Reintegration

Using Consumer Law to Combat Criminal Record Barriers to Employment and Housing Opportunity (Journal of Poverty Law and Policy)

  • Organization: Legal Assistance of Western New York
  • Author: Louis Prieto at lprieto@lawny.org
  • Document Type: Article/News
  • Date Created: Wednesday, February 16, 2011
  • Submitted: Thursday, February 24, 2011
  • Attachment(s): PDF

Article published in the Clearinghouse Review: Journal of Poverty Law and Policy summarizes the consequences of the widespread use of criminal background checks. The article uses actual client stories to show ways that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) can provide legal services advocates with avenues to prevent the improper use of criminal records to deny individuals basic needs such as housing and employment. The article also uses New York law as an example to demonstrate the interplay between federal and state laws to maximize remedies for clients.

The article is co-authored by Louis Prieto, Managing Attorney of Legal Assistance of Western New York, Persis S. Yu, Hanna S. Cohn Equal Justice Fellow at Empire Justice Center and Jason Hoge, Legal Counsel for Monroe County Legal Assistance's Reentry Project.

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