President Barack Obama is posed to announce new actions Monday aimed at helping formerly incarcerated people reintegrate into society, the White House said.
Obama, who has made criminal justice reform a top priority during the last years of his presidency, will travel to Newark, N.J., to visit the Integrity House, a residential facility providing addiction treatment and recovery, reported CNN. He will then participate in a round-table on prisoner re-entry into society at Rutgers University, as well as deliver remarks highlighting the issue.
The plan includes up $8 million in federal education grants over three years for former inmates, as well as guidance on the use of arrest records in determining eligibility for public and federally assisted housing.
Obama is also directing the Office of Personnel Management to adjust its rules concerning when employers should ask about an applicant's criminal history, saying it should be done later during the hiring process, according to Reuters.
"While most agencies already have taken this step, this action will better ensure that applicants from all segments of society, including those with prior criminal histories, receive a fair opportunity to compete for federal employment," the White House said in a statement.
The White House noted Obama is also calling on Congress to "ban the box" on federal job applications that requires job applicants to state if they have a criminal record, which has already been outlawed in a few cities, states and private companies, according to Think Progress.
"Each year, more than 600,000 individuals are released from state and federal prisons," the White House said in a statement, according to Reuters. "Advancing policies and programs that enable these men and women to put their lives back on track and earn their second chance promotes not only justice and fairness, but also public safety."
This is the Obama administration's latest push for criminal justice reform. In July, he became the first sitting president to visit a federal prison and met with six inmates. He has also called on Congress to pass sentencing reform to help reduce the number of people serving extended sentences for non-violent drug crimes.
