A California legal guide for people in reentry and their advocates.
Chapters
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The Building Blocks Of Reentry: Getting Id & Other Key Documents, Voting & Civic Participation
- Includes: how to get identification (ID) and other key documents, voting rights, and Selective Service registration. You will want ID and other key documents so that you can participate in all the services that your community has to offer, so that you can legally drive, and so that you can prove who you are.
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Parole & Probation
- There are many types of supervision in California — state parole, county probation, mandatory supervision, PRCS, federal probation, federal supervised release, and federal parole. This chapter will help you understand what it means to be on community supervision, what rules you have to follow, and all the rights you have as a person in reentry.
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Housing
- Learn more about your housing options and legal rights; what kind of housing you can and cannot get into because of your criminal record; and things you can do if your legal rights are violated.
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Public Benefits
- An overview of the government assistance)available to you in reentry, including how a criminal record affects your application. This chapter explains the most common public benefits programs that can help provide things like: cash assistance, health care, or food in your transition.
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Employment
- Prepare to reenter the workforce and learn about the job application process. You will learn about your rights when an employer runs a background check on you, how and when an employer may consider your criminal record, and how to protect your rights in these situations. This Chapter will also help you if you want to apply for a professional or occupational license, start your own small business, or consider other alternatives to traditional employment. Finally, this Chapter will explain your rights in the workplace if your incarceration was the result of a disability, and how to protect yourself against illegal discrimination.
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Court-Ordered Debt
- A basic overview of court-ordered debt to help you understand the money you may owe because of your past court involvement. You will learn the different kinds of court-ordered debt, what happens to these debts while you are incarcerated, and how these debts can affect you when you return to the community.
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Family & Children
- An overview of the issues that parents and caregivers experience when trying to reconnect with and care for their children, as well as legal issues that arise during incarceration related to children, spouses/partners, and other family-related issues. This Chapter will teach you how to establish or re-establish your rights, responsibilities, and relationship with your child(ren), and how to navigate the family court systems so that you can best handle any issues related to custody, guardianship, juvenile dependency/CPS cases, visitation, etc.
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Education
- Overview of the different options available for pursuing your education whether you are currently incarcerated, preparing for your release or are formerly incarcerated. It also explains the options of student aid and funding in order to pursue your educational goals.
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Understanding & Cleaning Up Your Criminal Record
- Learn the importance of understanding your records, where that information exists in the world, and how to fix mistakes in your record early on in reentry. You may be able to “clean up” your criminal record through different kinds of “expungement” in California. In most cases, “cleaning up” your criminal record WON’T completely erase it, but it CAN make past convictions and other criminal history less visible to many, which has many benefits in different areas of your life, including applying to housing, jobs, and more.
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Tribal Issues
- Special laws and programs that are available to or affect tribal members, including tribal enrollment and ID cards, housing programs, public benefits, and the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).
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Immigration
- As a noncitizen you could face a variety of unique challenges due to your criminal record. In this chapter, you will learn more about preparing to navigate through the reentry process in a way that can help protect you and your family from deportation and other immigration consequences.
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Legal Aid Providers In California
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This Appendix includes a list of legal aid providers across the state of California—and even a few national ones—that may be able to help you with your legal issues. The list is organized first by reentry legal issue. The list is further organized under each issue area by region of California, and what legal aid organizations work on that issue in a specific region.
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Social Services In California