6. What is the first policy you would implement as President to increase successful reentry and reduce recidivism? (Please select one)

a. Increase access to higher education.

b. Increase employment opportunities.

c. Reform probation and parole laws.

d. Expand expungement and record sealing opportunities.

e. Provide greater drug abuse and mental health treatment.

f. Other. __________________________

Vice President Joe Biden

 e.     Provide greater drug abuse and mental health treatment.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg

b. Increase employment opportunities.

I support and intend to implement all of the above strategies. In fact, as mayor I founded new employment programs—like the Transitional Jobs Program—and new housing programs— like the Frequent Users Services Enhancement Program. I also overhauled the probation and parole system to focus on moving people into jobs and housing, and out of the supervision system. My first priority among these would be to increase employment. This would start with vocational training in prison, with new funding to support pre-discharge job placement for people re-entering society. And it woud include funding a work program to help connect the formerly incarcerated with sustainable employment. I would will promote the Work Opportunity Tax Credit and Federal Bonding Program that incentivize employers and remove the current limitations in order to provide support for several years after re-entry.

Senator Bernie Sanders

f.      Other.

This year, three-quarters of a million people will return home from prison and millions more from jails. Most of them will face enormous barriers that make successful re-entry nearly impossible. We must put an end to employment discrimination and eliminate barriers to training and education. Once someone has served their time they should not be excluded from social programs, public housing, medical care, and the right to vote and serve on juries.

As President, Bernie will ensure a just transition post-release for formerly incarcerated people. Together, we will:

●      Make expungement broadly available.

●      Remove legal and regulatory barriers and facilitate access to services so that people returning home from jail or prison can build a stable and productive life.

●      Create a federal agency responsible for monitoring re-entry.

●      “Ban the box” by removing questions regarding conviction histories from job and other applications.

●      Enact fair chance licensing reform to remove unfair restrictions on occupational licensure based on criminal history.

●      Increase funding for re-entering youth programs. We will also pass a massive youth jobs program to provide jobs and job-training opportunities for disadvantaged young Americans who face high unemployment rates.

●      Guarantee safe, decent, affordable housing.

●      Remove the profit motive from our re-entry system and diversion, community supervision, or treatment programs, and ensure people leaving incarceration or participating in diversion, community supervision, or treatment programs can do so free of charge.

●      Guarantee jobs and free job training at trade schools and apprenticeship programs.

●     Provide people struggling with addiction the health care they need by guaranteeing health care, which includes inpatient and outpatient substance abuse and mental health services with no copayments or deductibles, to all people as a right, not a privilege, through a Medicare-for-all, single-payer program.

●     Guarantee tuition- and debt-free public colleges, universities, trade schools, and apprenticeship programs and the end equity gap in higher education attainment for people with disabilities by ensuring all our students get the help they need so they are ready for college and receive the support they need when they are in college.

Senator Elizabeth Warren

 f .  Other. Address Collateral Sanctions

Reducing barriers to full reintegration in society reduces recidivism, but our system is rife with collateral consequences that hamper reentry for formerly incarcerated people, including in employment, housing, and voter enfranchisement.We should remove those barriers and allow the over 3 million returning citizens who have served their time to find work and fully rejoin their communities.