REVERSE CIVIC AND LEGAL EXCLUSIONS FOR PERSONS WITH CRIMINAL CHARGES AND CONVICTIONS

Civil disability policies entangle persons with criminal convictions in a web of civic and legal exclusions
that revoke or restrict their rights and limit access to services needed for an individual’s successful
community reintegration. These policies—also known as collateral consequences—extend the reach of
criminal justice punishment long after contact with the formal system has ended. There are now an
estimated 40,000 civil disability policies nationwide—policies that affect the daily lives of individuals,
touching every aspect from housing and family composition to education and employment opportunities.
Just as racial, economic, and behavioral-health disparities exist within the formal criminal justice system,
so also the disproportionately negative effects of justice-system involvement play out in the lives and
communities devastated by mass incarceration.