This is a new feature for Beyond Barriers – our resource page. As I get new resources, I will add them to this and when you have something you need further information, email me [0] and I will try to locate it and post a new resource to this site.

Partnership for Safety and Justice has an Oregon Transition Resource Guide [0]. You can also find a copy at the bottom of this page. This guide does not list every resource in Oregon, but it provides a helpful place to begin looking for transitional resources in the state.

General Transitional Resources

• National Employment Law Project (NELP) Second Chance Labor Project [1] works with advocates, policy makers and people with criminal records to ensure a more fair and effective system of employment screening for criminal records. The Project seeks to protect public safety and security while promoting the rehabilitative value of work and the basic employment rights of all workers, including those with criminal records.

• The Legal Action Center [2] has an advocacy toolkit to work on expunging a past felony conviction. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, there are over 64 million criminal records on file with criminal justice repositories around the United States. That means that a high percentage of the nation's adult population lives a substantial portion of their lives having a criminal record. If you are facing this barrier, this might be helpful information for you.

The Urban Agenda [3]in New York tells us: Besides providing an excuse not to hire black men, a felony conviction bars them from employment in several sectors of the economy because an increasing number of jobs in the workforce are now off limits to anyone with a prison record. These barriers to employment contribute to a return or “recidivism [3]” rate of 50 percent within three years after release. Link to “For Black Men: A Sentence That Never Ends”

Tips for your visit to the Parole Board

These are two links I found while searching for tips for a parole board hearing. The information from both sites would be helpful to send to your loved one who is about to see the parole board

• One is to a site “Free Advice” [4]

• And the other is to a Canadian site “National Parole Board” [5]

“Public safety and assisting the offender in reintegrating into the community are the most important considerations in any parole decision. Is the inmate willing and ready to re-enter the community as a law-abiding citizen and contribute to a safer society? Can the inmate’s release back into society harm the general public? All relevant information is considered.”

Restoring your eligibility to vote

• Oregon voting rights [5]

• US Department of Justice [6]- information about restoring voting rights

[7]