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Apr 12, 2019

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How CCLP Led ‘Ban the Box’ Legislation

by | Apr 12, 2019

Family Economic Security

Developing successful policy often requires a combination of persuasive research, thoughtful strategy, strong partnerships, good luck, and above all, perseverance.

All of those ingredients came together over the past eight years to advance House Bill 1025, which will head to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk to hopefully become law now that it’s been approved by Colorado legislators with bipartisan support. Sponsored by Reps. Leslie Herod and Jovan Melton and Sens. Mike Foote and Robert Rodriguez, HB 1025 prohibits employers from asking about criminal history on an initial employment application. If signed by the governor, Colorado will join 11 other states with similar laws on the books for the private sector.

Colorado Center on Law and Policy tilled the ground for this bill by developing two previous iterations and built support for “ban the box” legislation in 2016 and 2017. But the impetus for the work goes back years earlier.

Claire Levy, now Executive Director of CCLP, noted that while serving as a state legislator more than half a decade ago, she asked CCLP to consider developing a criminal justice agenda addressing the disproportionate effect of mass incarceration on Coloradans living on low wages. At that time, she was told that such work was out of the organization’s scope.

Foundational work
An attorney who once worked at the public defenders’ appellate division office, Claire reconnected with her interest in criminal justice legislation while serving on the House Judiciary Committee. She was concerned that too many of the state’s resources were going into the Department of Corrections to accommodate the growing prison population, rather than applying the funds to higher education to benefit her constituents in Boulder, home of the University of Colorado.

“We had more than half of (Colorado’s prison population) coming out of prison and going back again,” Claire recalled. “That’s a completely ineffective state agency. So, if we need more money for other things, we’ve got to make the criminal justice system actually work and we’ve got to make the Department of Corrections work better.”

In 2012, Claire sponsored HB 1263, which prohibits state the state from performing a background check until the agency determines that the applicant is a finalist for the position or the applicant receives a conditional offer. She also sponsored legislation to prohibit licensing agencies from disqualifying people based on an irrelevant criminal background. Studies have shown that similar ban the box policies resulted in more people with criminal records getting jobs – allowing them to support themselves and their families and stay out of prison.

Questions about criminal history have long imposed an employment barrier to Coloradans. Employers are likely to rule out prospects who acknowledge their criminal history without considering them for an interview.

Individuals, families and society pay the price when people can’t enter the workforce because of the stigma associated with a past criminal history. And maintaining meaningful employment is one of the primary predictors of whether a person leaving the criminal justice system will successfully reintegrate into society or recycle back into the criminal justice system. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice released in 2015, Colorado had the third-highest recidivism rate in the United States at 52.5 percent — with the average time between release and re-arrest at approximately eight months.

After being hired as CCLP’s Executive Director in late 2013, Claire was determined to apply her vision of using criminal justice reform to improve Coloradans’ financial security. Exploring options for promoting and increasing employment opportunities for people with criminal records, CCLP published a white paper and eyed the possibility of building support for a “ban the box” law for the private sector.

In late 2014, Claire was approached by Jack Regenbogen, a Colorado College graduate who was completing his J.D. at University of Pennsylvania Law School. Jack wanted to return to Colorado to do advocacy work for CCLP and Claire suggested that Jack pursue grants to develop ban the box legislation. As a result, he obtained funding from his law school to support his work for one year and began working at the CCLP in September, 2015.

Building a coalition
Jack immediately got to work on a bill by studying how other states passed ban the box bills in the private sector, although there were just a handful of examples. He met with stakeholders, built a strong coalition of partner organizations, workforce centers, labor organizations and faith-based organizations. He gathered endorsements online and gave presentations on the issue to various groups.

In preparation for the 2016 legislative session, Claire and Jack visited with Rep. Beth McCann (now Denver’s District Attorney) to ask her to sponsor the bill. She agreed and the bill passed through the House easily with a diverse slate of individuals (including Coloradans with criminal records) providing persuasive and often emotionally moving testimony in support of the bill. CCLP also worked with the media to get op-eds placed in community newspapers and favorable TV coverage about ban the box legislation.

But while CCLP had received assurances from Senate leadership that the bill would get a “fair hearing” in the Senate, the legislation was assigned to the Senate State Affairs and Local Government Committee, known as the “Kill Committee,” where it failed on a party-line vote.

After the defeat, Jack revived the campaign, building on the coalition and gathering more grassroots support among local businesses by making the legislation more business-friendly. But despite growing support, and an endorsement in The Denver Post, the measure met a similar fate in 2017.

CCLP did not back a ban the box bill in 2018, when the organization focused on other efforts to improve employment prospects for people with a criminal record. Among them: A mechanism to automatically seal certain criminal records and HB 1418 and HB 1344, which made it easier to secure collateral relief from a judge when people are denied licenses or public housing because of past criminal records. Both bills were approved with nearly unanimous support from both chambers and signed into law by the governor.

CCLP did not plan to pursue legislation in 2019, again because we intended to focus on increasing the criminal records that are sealed. In particular, CCLP had a grant to develop legislation to make record sealing easier for people with non-violent misdemeanors and felonies.

Third time’s a charm
But with leadership changes in the Capitol from the 2018 election, the political climate was more favorable for ban the box legislation in the 2019 legislative session. Rep. Leslie Herod approached Jack regarding a ban the box bill that became HB 1025. Jack provided Rep. Herod with resources including research, fact sheets and contacts from previous years. He also helped Rep. Herod revive the coalition of partners that Jack relied upon in 2016 and 2017 and helped build support for the legislation, which easily passed through both chambers with some bipartisan support.

“The strength of box the box is a testament to the strength of our partnerships,” Jack said.  “There have been groups that have been committed to this for the last three and a half years who have testified at every hearing, made phone calls and brought more supporters on board.”

As drafted, HB 1025 was nearly identical to the 2017 bill, which business interests had opposed. However, business interests were “neutral” on this year’s effort, stating in testimony that the measure was more “business friendly” than previous iterations. In recent years, criminal justice issues have gained bipartisan support, from politicians like former Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and from companies such as the Koch Industries, Wal-Mart, Target and Home Depot who have embraced ban the box.

With understanding increasing of the harmful, long-term consequences of a criminal record on a person’s chance of succeeding, Jack and CCLP are working on other policies to remove the stigma of criminal records, including putting limitations on criminal history questions on rental applications on HB 1106. That bill, led by 9to5 Colorado,  began as a bill to require landlords that charge an application fee to provide an itemized receipt detailing any and all fees and issue a return on unused fees.  It was amended to restrict use of certain criminal records by landlords and give renters the right to know why a landlord rejected their application. This year, CCLP also worked on HB 1275, which would make records for most non-violent convictions eligible for sealing and unavailable to the public.

Jack is encouraged that his work on ban the box legislation over the past four years has finally paid off.

“Part of me feels a tremendous sense of excitement that this is going to happen, but this is a really modest first step,” he said. “This is not going to be a silver bullet for those with barriers to employment. In the big-picture sense, there’s still a lot of work to be done.”

Claire Levy, who will leave CCLP in late May after more than five years of building and refining the organization’s mission and resources, also regards the approval of HB 1025 as something of a watershed moment for Colorado and CCLP.

“You always have to take the long view on policy,” she said. “You identify a good policy and realize it may take some time to get it passed and you keep working on it — even though you don’t succeed the first couple of times.”

– By Bob Mook

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HEALTH:
HEALTH FIRST COLORADO (MEDICAID)

Health First Colorado is the name given to Colorado’s Medicaid program. Medicaid provides public, low-cost health insurance to qualifying adults and children. It is an entitlement program funded by the federal, state, and county governments and is administered by counties in Colorado. Those who are required to pay must pay a small co-pay when receiving certain health care services.

State Department: Department of Health Care Policy and Financing

Eligibility: Most adults 18 to 64 are eligible for Medicaid in Colorado if their household income is at or below 133% of the federal poverty limit (FPL). Pregnant women are eligible with incomes of up to 195% FPL, while children under 18 may be eligible if the live in a household with income at or below 142% FPL. Some adults over 65 may also be eligible for Medicaid.

Program Benefits: Through Medicaid, low-income Coloradans are eligible for a range of health care services at little to not cost. Services provided include doctors visits, prescription drugs, mental health services, and dental care. Co-pays for certain individuals may be needed for certain services.

Program Funding and Access: Colorado funds our Medicaid program through state and federal dollars. Medicaid is an entitlement program, which means that all who are eligible for Medicaid can access the program, regardless of the funding level in a given year. This does not mean that it is always easy to access Medicaid, even when eligible. And since the program is administered by counties, funding levels for county staff and other administrative roles can make it easier or harder for Coloradans to access the program. On top of this, not all medical providers accept Medicaid which limits the ability of Coloradans to seek health services even if enrolled, such as if the nearest provider is a 2+ hour drive away.

Note: This data is from before the pandemic and does not reflect changes in enrollment rules during the COVID-19 pandemic and public health emergency.

Statewide Program Access 2015-19: Over the study period of this report, an average of 89.0% of the population at or below 133% of FPL (i.e., the population who is likely to be eligible for Medicaid) were enrolled in Medicaid in Colorado.

FOOD SECURITY:
SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP)

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP helps low-income Coloradans purchase food by providing individuals and families with a monthly cash benefit that can be used to buy certain foods. SNAP is an entitlement program that is funded by the federal and state governments and administered by counties in Colorado.

State Department: Department of Human Services

Eligibility: Currently, Coloradans qualify for SNAP if they have incomes below 200% FPL, are unemployed or work part-time or receive other forms of assistance such as TANF, among other eligibility criteria. Income eligibility for SNAP was different during the study period of this report than today—it was 130% FPL back in 2019 for example. The US Department of Agriculture uses the population at or below 125% FPL when calculating the Program Access Index (or PAI) for SNAP. We follow this practice in our analysis despite Colorado currently having a higher income eligibility threshold.

Program Benefits: SNAP participants receive a monthly SNAP benefit that is determined by the number of people in their household and their income. Benefit amounts decrease as income increases, helping households avoid a sudden loss of SNAP when their incomes increase, even by a minor amount. Benefits are provided to an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card that can be used to purchase eligible food items, such as fruits and vegetables; meat, poultry, and fish; dairy products; and breads and cereals. Other items, such as foods that are hot at their point of sale, are not allowable purchases under current SNAP rules.

Program Funding and Access: SNAP, like Medicaid, is a federal entitlement program. This means that Colorado must serve any Coloradan who is eligible for the program. As such, funding should not be a limit to how many Coloradans can be served by the program. However, funding for administration of SNAP at the state and county level can limit the ability of county human service departments to enroll those who are eligible. Other program rules and administrative barriers can make it difficult for Coloradans to receive the benefits they are legally entitled to receive.

Statewide Program Access 2015-19: Over the study period of this report, an average of 61.1% of the population at or below 125% of FPL (i.e., the population who is likely to be eligible for SNAP) were enrolled.

FOOD SECURITY:
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR WOMEN, INFANTS AND CHILDREN (WIC)

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, also know as WIC, provides healthcare and nutritional support to low-income Coloradans who are pregnant, recently pregnant, breastfeeding, and to children under 5 who are nutritionally at risk based on a nutrition assessment.

State Department: Department of Public Health and Environment

Eligibility: To participate in WIC you must be pregnant, pregnant in the last six months, breastfeeding a baby under 1 year of age, or a child under the age of 5. Coloradans do not need to be U.S. citizens to be eligible for WIC. In terms of income, households cannot have incomes that exceed 185% FPL. Families who are enrolled in SNAP, TANF, Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), or Medicaid are automatically eligible for WIC. Regardless of gender, any parents, foster parents, or caregivers are able to apply for and use WIC services for eligible children.

Program Benefits: WIC provides a range of services to young children and their parents. These include funds to purchase healthy, fresh foods; breastfeeding support; personalized nutrition education and shopping tips; and referrals to health care and other services participants may be eligible for.

Program Funding and Access: WIC is funded by the US Department of Agriculture. The state uses these federal funds to contract with local providers, known as WIC Clinics. In most cases, these are county public health agencies, but that is not the case in all Colorado counties. Some WIC Clinics cover multiple counties, while others are served by multiple clinics. Private non-profit providers are also eligible to be selected as a WIC Clinic.

Statewide Program Access 2015-17: Between 2015 and 2017, an average of 52.2% of the population eligible for WIC were enrolled in the program in Colorado.

Financial Security:
Colorado Works

Colorado Works is the name given to Colorado’s program for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families or TANF. It is an employment program that supports families with dependent children on their path to self-sufficiency. Participants can receive cash assistance, schooling, workforce development and skills training depending on the services available in their county.

State Department: Department of Human Services

Eligibility: In general, Coloradans are eligible to enroll in TANF if they are a resident of Colorado, have one or more children under the age of 18 or pregnant, and have very low or no income. For example, to be eligible to receive a basic cash assistance grant through TANF, a single-parent of one child could not earn more than $331 per month, with some exclusions—and would only receive $440 per month (as of 2022). That said, there are other services provided by counties through TANF that those with incomes as high as $75,000 may be eligible for. In addition to these, participants in TANF are required to work or be pursuing an eligible “work activity” or work-related activity. Any eligible individual can only receive assistance if they have not previously been enrolled in TANF for a cumulative amount of time of more than 60 months—this is a lifetime limit that does not reset. Counties may have additional requirements and offer benefits that are not available in other counties in Colorado.

Program Benefits:  While the exact benefits that one is eligible for under TANF can vary, all qualified participants are eligible to receive a monthly cash payment, call basic cash assistance. Other than cash assistance, counties are have a lot of choice in how to use their TANF funding; generally a use of TANF funds is appropriate so long as it advances one or more of the four purposes of the program: (1) provide assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of their relatives; (2) end the dependence of needy families on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage; (3) prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and (4) encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.

It is important to note that those eligible for TANF are also eligible for many of the other programs we’ve included in this report, such as SNAP, Medicaid, and CCCAP.

Program Funding and Access: Colorado funds its TANF program through funds received from the federal government through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant. Most of the federal funds are allocated by the state to counties, which are required to provide a 20% match of state funding. Federal and state rules allow the state and counties to retain a portion of unspent funds in a TANF reserve.

Statewide Program Access 2015-19: Over the study period of this report, an average of 50.7% of the population at or below 100% of FPL (i.e., the population who is likely to be eligible for TANF) were enrolled in TANF in Colorado.

EARLY LEARNING:
COLORADO CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (CCCAP)

The Colorado Child Care Assistance Program provides child care assistance to low-income families and caregivers living in Colorado in the form of reduced payments for child care. It is a program funded by the federal, state, and county governments and is administered by counties in Colorado. The share owed by parents/caregivers is determined on a sliding scale based on the family’s income.

State Department: Department of Early Childhood Education

Eligibility: Counties set eligibility for families separately, but must serve families with incomes at or below 185% of the Federal Poverty Limit. Families accepted to the program are no longer eligible once their income exceeds 85% of the state median income. Parents or caregivers must be employed, searching for work, or engaged in another approved activity to be eligible for CCCAP. Parents and caregivers enrolled in Colorado Works (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families or TANF) or in the child welfare system are also eligible to participate in CCCAP. Generally, CCCAP serves families with children under 13, although children as old as 19 may be eligible under certain circumstances.

Program Benefits: If a family is eligible for CCCAP and has income, they may likely have to pay a portion of their child’s or children’s child care costs each month. The amount that families owe is based on their gross income, number of household members, and the number of children in child care in the household. As such, households tend not to experience a benefit cliff with CCCAP when they see their incomes increase

Program Funding and Access: Colorado funds the CCCAP program using federal dollars it receives from the Child Care and Development Block Grant program. The state allocates federal and state funds to counties using a formula that takes into account factors like current caseloads and the number of eligible residents. Assistance is available until the county’s funds are spent, so the number of families that can be served is often a function of how much funding is available and the income and composition of the household that applies. It is not uncommon for counties to overspend or underspend their allocations of funds. The state reallocates unspent funds from counties who underspent to those who overspent. While underspending could indicate a problem with the way a county administers its CCCAP program, it could just as likely be a sign that there are few providers in the county who participate in CCCAP—or a lack of providers generally.

Statewide Program Access 2015-19: Over the study period of this report, an average of 10.8% of the population at or below 165% of FPL and younger than age 13 (i.e., the population who is likely to be eligible for CCCAP) were enrolled in CCCAP.

Housing:
HUD rental assistance programs

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has three housing assistance programs that we look at together: Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8), Project-based Section 8, and Public Housing. In Colorado, these programs provided assistance to over 90% of the households who received federal housing assistance from all HUD programs. Through federally funded, local or regional public housing agencies (PHAs) are the agencies that administer these programs, through not all are available in all counties. These are not the only programs available in Colorado that assist households afford the cost of housing, such as units funded through federal and state tax credit programs.

State Department: Department of Local Affairs

Eligibility: Generally, households with incomes under 50% of the area median income (AMI) of the county they live in are eligible for these rental assistance programs, although PHAs have discretion to select households with incomes at higher percentages of AMI. That said, HUD requires that 75% of new vouchers issued through the Housing Choice Voucher/Section 8 program in a given year are targeted to households with incomes at or below 30% of AMI. PHAs are also able to create criteria that give priority to certain types of households who are on waiting lists for these programs.

Program Benefits: These rental assistance programs help households afford the cost of housing by reducing their housing costs to around 30% of their household income. In the case of the Housing Choice Voucher program, the PHA pays the voucher holder’s landlord the remaining portion of the rent.

Program Funding and Access: Funding and access are both challenges for these rental assistance programs. In addition to limitations on the number of public housing units or housing vouchers a PHA can manage or issue, lack of funding compared to the need constrains the ability of PHAs to assist low-income households. In 2020, Coloradans were on waitlists for Housing Choice Vouchers for an average of 17 months. Waitlists also exist for the other rental assistance programs.

Statewide Program Access 2015-19: Over the study period of this report, an average of 21.1% of renter households with incomes at or below 50% AMI (i.e., the population who is likely to be eligible for HUD rental assistance programs) were living in subsidized housing.