Our Mission
Second Chances is committed to
providing those with convictions resources to establish structure for optimal
community outcomes upon reentry. Our services will support those in need with
employment placement & growth opportunities with prudent supervision to
establish consistency, and empowerment in order to finalize the reform
intended.
Why is this needed, & who does
this help?
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
is a federal legislation across the United States that promotes accuracy,
fairness and privacy for data used by consumer reporting agencies, and
employment background checks. KY is known as a lifelong state. This means that
though a conviction may be 10, 20, 30+ years old without further incidence, a
resident of the state can still be denied employment, though this is one of
many prudent conditions of probation & parole means not reoffending or technical violation.
The intent of FCRA is fairness in
background checks, further supported by EEOC. However, FCRA laws can vary from
one state to the next dramatically. For this reason, 2nd chances is
working to aid where deficiencies continue to hurt the state of KY in its
advancement; greatly in part because the act is not used as a tool of fairness,
fraught with stigma and lack of general knowledge around the varying conviction
classifications and associated crimes.
Many states no longer allow lifelong
checks such as this, addtionally further support the intent of reform by allowing the
consideration of low level felony expungement for nonviolent, non abusive crimes
for eligibility of expungment; with review & sign off by the court. Those
states have adopted this approach with the understanding not all felonies are
created alike, and are classified by severity, in the case of KY Class A-D.
Those states in which checks are
restricted to 7 or 10 years, or allow consideration for expungment have
subsequently reduced serious deficits & inefficiencies costing tax payers & members of the community. This has been
additionally successful in aiding those with convictions to truly
aspire toward reformed, productive lives which is the intent. Reformed
citizens regain a sense of pride and empowerment, supporting their
families, and are significantly lower risk to recidivism, public aid, and cycle through generations.
Lowered recidivism decreases prison
overcrowding, further risk to inmates & prison staff; lowered state
costs,
increased state revenue, application of academic & trade skills
supported
while incarcerated toward a career upon release in a community that
understands this, all while fulfilling the need of employers in the
community. Organizations also benefit from the Work Opportunity Tax
Credit per person employed, & acting socially responsible for the
betterment of the community.
How are we going to get there?
2nd Chances Filed as a
Non-Profit Corporation, in the process of applying for IRS status. We are
aspiring to work with a fiscal agent to accept donations on our behalf, while
working toward our goal. Initial seed funds are needed to support legal
process, & operations for start up costs. Will work with other similar
non-profits where reentry resources are in place, as we focus on employment placement
services, supporting the community in tandem.
Funds are needed for initial
assistance in order to continue to support efforts. Short term funds needed:
Initial goal:
o VOIP phone $50
o Custom Email $50
o Domain $100
o Meeting materials $400
o Business cards $20
o Thank you notes $50
o Planning and forecasting
software $240
o Corp filing, IRS filing $750
o Legal agreements, Fiscal
Agent etc $500
o Initial fundraising costs
$2000
$4,160 total
Long Term Goal:
Expenses
|
Subcontractors
|
$198,228.33
|
8%
|
Consultants
|
$8,743.80
|
0.37%
|
Professional services/
Administrative
|
$1,539.00
|
0.07%
|
Occupancy expenses
|
$303,050.76
|
13%
|
Equipment
|
$28,564.98
|
1%
|
Publications/subscriptions
|
$5,712.54
|
0.24%
|
Training
|
$7,386.06
|
0.32%
|
Office expense
|
$16,466.16
|
1%
|
Phone
|
$59,506.29
|
3%
|
Travel & Exp
|
$56,761.74
|
2%
|
Insurance
|
$200,920.44
|
9%
|
Office supplies
|
$13,863.54
|
1%
|
Conferences
|
$2,611.74
|
0.11%
|
Participant supplies
|
$36,633.90
|
2%
|
Wage subsidy
|
$22,611.90
|
1%
|
Personnel
|
Salaries/wages
|
$1,075,000.00
|
46%
|
Employee benefits
|
Staff
|
$213,510.60
|
9%
|
Participants
|
$83,007.39
|
4%
|
$2,334,119.17
|
Impacted population
o Prison Population (Rate per
100,000) 20,330 (462)
o Jail Population (Rate per
100,000) 16,761 (402)
o Probation Population
57,720
o Parole Population 14,416
o Total Disenfranchised
current & outside of successful probation & parole
243,842
(7.4%)
Current cost to state
in millions $617, approx 103,427,098.58 over budget