Community Service Society of New York

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Community Service Society of New York Overview of Achievements, 2015-2016 CSS s Legal Department and its Next Door Project (NDP) provided direct assistance to more than 793 low-income New York City

1 Community Service Society of New York Overview of Achievements, CSS s Legal Department and its Next Door Project (NDP) provided direct assistance to more than 793 low-income New York City residents during the grant period. All clients were members of our target population: low-income New Yorkers who have arrest and/or conviction histories. NDP utilizes both staff and a total of 10 specially trained and closely supervised older adult volunteers to assist clients with obtaining, understanding and correcting mistakes in their official criminal record rap sheets (both NY State and, for clients with out-of-state arrests, the FBI). CSS hosted a total of 36 NDP intake sessions at our Manhattan offices; at Restoration Plaza in Brooklyn s Bed-Stuy neighborhood; at the NYC Dept. of Probation s Harlem Neighborhood Opportunity Network; at the Bowery offices of our partner agency Project Renewal; and at the Brooklyn and Bronx offices of the Osborne Association. At each session, CSS attorneys trained on the criminal justice system, how criminal records are created and mistakes happen, and on laws and systems that protect against criminal records-based discrimination. Once clients rap sheets were returned to us by NYS or the FBI, our staff and volunteers reviewed them to check for errors and certificate eligibility. We met with 433 clients individually, ensuring they understood their rap sheets and could speak confidently about them at job or housing interviews. We assisted 292 clients in determining eligibility for Certificates of Relief from Disabilities (CRDs) and Certificates of Good Conduct (CGCs), and advised 188 clients on how to create portfolios of evidence of rehabilitation proof that they had made strides and positive changes in their lives since the time of their conviction. In January 2016 NDP took on the task of correcting our clients rap sheet errors. After detecting a total of 457 errors on rap sheets, we were able to correct 156 of them; work to correct the remaining errors continues. In the individual review sessions, and at individual consultations during intake sessions, NDP staff discussed clients experiences with employment, licensing and housing discrimination, and referred clients to our attorneys to further investigate where appropriate. This year our attorneys provided legal advice to 136 clients, investigating claims on behalf of many; represented nine clients in administrative hearings or review; represented 10 clients in filings with government agencies; and represented five clients in court proceedings. In one of these proceedings we successfully moved to have one client s 180 human trafficking-related criminal convictions vacated, dismissed and sealed. We also continued to co-counsel the nationwide Title VII class action against the U.S. Census Bureau; CSS represents two of the named plaintiffs. Our client services generated an estimated $55,505 in savings to our clients and their families because state and federal government agencies and the courts waived filing and application fees. Because our services helped clients obtain and maintain employment, we saved New York taxpayers an estimated $1,438, This Provider At a Glance Population Served: Low Income New Yorkers with Arrest and/or Conviction Histories Area Served: New York City Metropolitan Area Total Funding: $898,140 Total IOLA Grant: $50,000 Staffing - Full Time Equivalents Total Staff: 7.00 Lawyers: 4.00 Others: 3.00 Types of Services Provided Direct Civil Legal Representation Brief Services Extended Services Hotlines and Other Phone-Based Services Technology and Other Innovations Community Legal Education Pro Se Assistance Collaborations With Other Service Providers Major Cases or Other Advocacy Projects Community Service Society of New York - 1

Outcomes 3,572 Individuals Benefited from 1,834 Closed Direct Civil Legal Cases Extended Representation Outcomes 1,934 People benefited from extended representation Brief Representation Benefits

2 Outcomes 3,572 Individuals Benefited from 1,834 Closed Direct Civil Legal Cases Extended Representation Outcomes 1,934 People benefited from extended representation Brief Representation Benefits 1,242 People benefited from legal advice and counsel 392 People benefited from non-litigation advocacy services 4 People benefited by referral to other sources of help Representative Cases SS attorneys successfully appealed a denial of security guard registration for an individual who spent nearly 29 C years in the New York State prison system for a homicide-related conviction that occurred when he was seventeen years old. While incarcerated, the client earned a Master s degree and became a trusted liaison between other inmates and the correctional staff. After his release in 2008, the client continued to serve as a community leader, receiving a City Council citation in 2011 for his outstanding service. However, because of his conviction, he struggled to find employment. In 2015, the New York Department of State (DOS) denied the client s application to become a security guard because of his decades-old offense. CSS represented the client in an administrative hearing to appeal the DOS decision. The decision was overturned as a result of the hearing, and our client is now licensed and working as a security guard. O ur attorneys successfully advocated on behalf of an experienced special needs educator who lost her job after her teenaged sister, who suffers from mental illness, violently attacked her, causing both of them to be arrested. While the arrest charges were promptly dismissed, the client, a single mother of a child with Down Syndrome, struggled to find new employment because the altercation with her sister, still a minor, had led to the New York City Administration for Children s Services (ACS) filing a report on her with the New York State Central Register for Child Abuse and Maltreatment. CSS was able to get ACS to seal the report. Now the client no longer has to worry about this record preventing her from working with children. Breakdown of Cases by Legal Problem Area People Cases Total 3,572 1,834 Employment 2,884 1,386 Criminal Record Correction Miscellaneous Advice & Counsel Employment 76% Criminal Record Correction 8% Miscellaneous Advice & Counsel 16% Community Service Society of New York - 2

3 Other Services Technology and Other Innovations CSS moved offices in August of Our new, fullyrenovated office space includes new conference rooms fully equipped with media technology such as video conferencing and improved wireless microphones that allow for higher quality presentations and meetings. We have new and improved client meeting spaces and volunteer work stations. Legal Services Other Than Direct Legal Representation In addition to the intake sessions mentioned above, CSS attorneys engaged in eight community legal education events, covering such topics as the criminal justice system; how mistakes in records occur and how to fix them; legal protections against criminal records-based employment discrimination including the NYC Fair Chance Act (FCA); and how to obtain CRDs and CGCs. Our goal in each of these presentations was to educate individuals and service providers on rights and remedies, and to provide them with information about our services. Another training, held for NDP partner agencies, concerned the FCA, how the agencies could help spot and report violations of the Act and how they as nonprofit employers could comply with its mandates. Number of People Benefited by Legal Services Other Than Direct Legal Representation Total: 16,384 People Community Legal Education and Pro Se Assistance: 4,994 People Web Usage: 11,390 People Collaborations With Other Service Providers CSS is a founding member and co-chair of the Coalition of Reentry Advocates (CoRA), a coalition that promotes policy and legislative reforms to alleviate collateral consequences of criminal convictions (more information: CoRA members include legal services providers and advocacy organizations such as the Legal Action Center (LAC) (co-leader of the coalition), Youth Represent (YR), the Center for Community Alternatives and MFY Legal Services. CoRA meets regularly to chart priorities and take action. CoRA members frequently collaborate on litigation and related matters. Many signed on to an amicus brief CSS and NELA/NY submitted to the 2d Circuit Court of Appeals in the matter USA v. Doe, a case concerning the federal courts power to expunge a criminal conviction. CSS also partnered with VOCAL-NY, Faith in Action, organized labor and the National Employment Law Project when drafting and advocating for passage of the FCA. Each group served a vital role in this process; all now partner to educate the public, employers and advocacy organizations about the FCA, and to press for strong enforcement of the law. NDP obtains the majority of its clients through referrals from a growing list of partner agencies, including the Center for Urban Community Services, Project Renewal, the HOPE Program, ACE, and The Doe Fund. We regularly meet with partners to provide updates, learn about their experiences with NDP, and provide education concerning protections against discrimination, so that they may better assist clients and make appropriate referrals. Finally, CSS is convener of the NY Reentry Roundtable, a group of individuals with conviction histories, their advocates, families and allies. The Roundtable, which counts more than 50 community based organizations, advocacy groups and legal service providers as partners, provides a forum for discussion and a platform for targeted advocacy. Our March 30 relaunch drew more than 75 people, among them individuals recently released from prison and currently in treatment diversion programs. The group is honing a legislative agenda; CSS hosted an organizational meeting on May 11 and a June meeting in Brooklyn s Bedford Stuyvesant community. CSS Legal Department staff informally partner with other reentry organizations and are members of advocacy coalitions seeking reforms to the criminal justice system. We also participate in local, state and affinity bar associations (such as NELA/NY). Judy Whiting, CSS s General Counsel and head of our Legal Department, was appointed to the NYC Bar Association s Mass Incarceration Task Force, is former chair of the Association s Corrections and Community Reentry Committee, and serves on the Association s House of Delegates. Backup or Support Services NDP provides rap sheet review, error correction and related services to all eligible participants in Project Renewal s Comfort Foods culinary arts training program. Clients are program participants who have had contact with the criminal justice system. We time our services for Comfort Foods participants so that rap sheets are provided, error correction undertaken and certificate eligibility determined prior to their graduation from the culinary program. Project Renewal serves 15,000 homeless New Yorkers each year, assisting them with housing, healthcare and employment. CSS assisted 66 Project Renewal Comfort Foods clients the past year. Each month, NDP sends an attorney and program staff member to the Osborne Association s Career Center and Fatherhood Initiative programs. These are three to four week programs that assist individuals with recent criminal Community Service Society of New York - 3

The Fatherhood Initiative specifically focuses on helping clients develop their parenting skills and improve relationships that may have been damaged in the course of their involvement with the

4 Other Services, continued justice system involvement in preparing to reenter the workforce. The programs focus on soft skills, such as how to write a resume or present oneself in an interview, and hard skills, such as basic maintenance training. The Fatherhood Initiative specifically focuses on helping clients develop their parenting skills and improve relationships that may have been damaged in the course of their involvement with the criminal justice system. Major Cases or Other Advocacy Projects NYC Fair Chance Act CSS served as chief legal advisor and lead drafter of the FCA, among the strongest ban the box laws in the nation. Under the FCA, questions about criminal conviction history/status must be reserved until after a conditional job offer is made. Convictions can then only be considered if they are directly related to the job or hiring the person would pose a risk to persons or property. The employer is required to evaluate the applicant using the criteria in Correction Law Art. 23-A, including any evidence of rehabilitation. If the employer intends to deny the job based on conviction history, they must complete a form mandated by the NYC Commission on Human Rights and hold the job open for at least three business days to allow the applicant to respond to the evaluation and any background check. Job ads can no longer mention criminal history or background checks. CSS worked in broad coalition with other groups to obtain popular support for the bill and to obtain legislative sponsors. Milestones: The FCA was signed into law at City Hall on June 29, 2015 and became effective October 27, Impacts: More than 6 million New Yorkers have criminal records: one in three adults. The FCA will level the playing field by allowing them to vie for work on their merits rather than being flatly denied based on their conviction history. Pro Bono Volunteer Involvement Pro Bono Attorneys: CSS relied on pro bono assistance from major law firms on legal matters affecting the agency, as well as on client-related matters. For example, the firm Davis Wright Tremaine helped to decipher an IT contract and advocate for needed changes. Schulte Roth and Zabel s intellectual property attorneys provided advice on CSS copyrights and trademarks, and its litigation attorneys helped a client with clearing parking tickets. Schulte Roth also provided us with a summer associate for one week last summer; the associate researched issues pertaining to criminal records-based discrimination. Finally, we received counsel from the Lawyers Alliance regarding an issue concerning compliance with the Nonprofit Revitalization Act. Law Students: CSS hosted two law student interns last summer, each of whom provided assistance with client matters including working directly with them to correct mistakes on rap sheets. The interns conducted legal research regarding technicalities concerning the FCA, and on criminal records-based employment discrimination. Pro Bono Statistics During , the following volunteers provided services in our program: Attorneys: 6 Volunteers 15 Hours Law Students: 2 Volunteers 700 Hours Other Volunteers: 18 Volunteers 1,054 Hours Dollar Value of Attorney Services*: $3,750 *estimated at $250 per hour Other Volunteers: CSS recruited, trained and supervised a total of 10 older adult volunteers for help with our Next Door Project this past program year. Sources of Funding Total IOLA Grant In-Kind Support State Funding Other Federal Programs Other $898,140 $50,000 $574,686 $226,754 $24,200 $22,500 Community Service Society of New York - 4 State Funding 25% In-Kind Support 64% Other 2% Other Federal Programs 3% IOLA Grant 6%

5 Other Services, continued These volunteers act as coach-mentors to our clients, helping them review and better understand their records; determine eligibility and make plans to apply for CRDs and CGCs; and create portfolios of documents to demonstrate rehabilitation. During this year our volunteers helped serve more than 665 clients, both at CSS s offices and at the offices of Project Renewal on the Bowery in lower Manhattan. CSS also hosted a term-time intern from the Columbia School of Social Work. Our intern was supervised by CSS s Associate Counsel, who also has a Ph.D. in Social Welfare Policy, in preparing focus groups concerning the NYC Fair Chance Act and in researching programs in other jurisdictions that provide vocational education to incarcerated individuals that New York State might emulate. Community Service Society of New York - 5

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