Every year, 650,000 people exit prison and re-enter their communities. Returning home can be an extremely arduous and vulnerable time, as individuals attempt to navigate housing, find employment, access medical care, or advance their education or trade skills. Without critical government documents or records, however, these obstacles can become even greater.

Providing access to identification documentation for justice-impacted individuals is a critical step in helping individuals find employment immediately upon their return.

After an arrest, an individual's ability to leave jail, return home, and maintain steady employment typically depends on their ability to provide bail. Bail is the temporary release of a person awaiting trial, often on the condition that money be given to guarantee their appearance in court.

On any given day, more than 600,000 Americans are incarcerated in local jails alone. Over the past three decades, the number of annual jail admissions doubled, and the average length of stay increased from 14 to 23 days. Reforming our bail system will strengthen the economy, improve long-term community safety, and increase justice and equity for our communities.

In both the U.S. and the U.K., even a decades-old criminal record can create significant barriers to employment, housing, educational opportunities, and more.

In the U.S., while processes to clear these records exist, less than 5% of eligible individuals will ever even apply due to a lack of access, knowledge, and funds required. "Clean Slate" refers to legislation that automates the review and sealing or expungement of eligible criminal records for individuals who completed their sentence and remained crime-free — a technological solution for closing the justice gap. By removing the collateral consequences of a record, the effort is a critical step in strengthening our communities and our economy.

In the U.K., a movement called #FairChecks, led by Transform Justice and Unlock, is calling on the government to review and overhaul the outdated criminal records disclosure system in England and Wales, which keeps thousands of people trapped in the past and unable to find work or progress in their careers. Currently, many people are forced to reveal very old and/or minor offences which have no bearing on their ability to complete the job at hand.

#FairChecks is calling for: no automatic disclosure of cautions; wipe the slate clean for childhood offenses; stop forcing people to reveal short prison sentences forever.

Most states suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew driver’s licenses for unpaid fines and fees. They also criminalize driving on a suspended license, and suspend licenses for failures to appear in court. Loss of a license leaves those who drive to work with an impossible choice: lose their jobs or risk further penalties — even arrest — to keep their income. Simply put, it forces Americans into a vicious and desperate cycle of poverty and incarceration.

Ending driver’s license suspensions for unpaid fines and fees will keep workers in their jobs and out of the justice system.