Fresh Start Criminal Record Relief Program

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2020

Fresh Start is the Office of the Public Defender’s Comprehensive Criminal Record Relief Programdesigned to educate and advocate for community members in all areas of conviction relief. Acriminal record creates barriers to employment, housing, education, volunteering, and other formsof civic engagement. Yet each of these opportunities that would be blocked with a criminal recordare critical to reducing recidivism. Reducing recidivism not only improves individual outcomes, itadvances families’ well-being, supports the economy and increases public safety. With recentcriminal justice reform, there are more opportunities to mitigate criminal records and reduce thesebarriers, but many individuals do not know their options nor how to seek relief.Staffed by experienced attorneys, paralegals, support personnel and legal interns, Fresh Startprovides community education and individual representation for people seeking criminal convictionrelief. Our attorneys investigate clients’ criminal histories, develop comprehensive Fresh Start caseplans, and seek all appropriate conviction relief on the clients’ behalf.The goal of the program is to remove barriers to successful community reintegration, improveindividuals’ access to employment, housing, education, and other forms of civic engagement and thusreduce recidivism and improve community safety.