Criminal Records Keep People from Work in Atlanta. A Formerly Incarcerated Woman Is Lobbying to Change That.

Our latest research, “The Economic Losses from Arrest and Conviction Records,” is featured in Capital B Atlanta’s reporting on Charlotte Garnes and Bridgette Simpson, two Directly Impacted leaders working to expand opportunities for people with records in Georgia.

After losing a job because of her conviction record, Garnes founded ReNforce to help people with records access employment through training, coaching, and professional development.

Simpson, co-founder of Barred Business, is working on legislation to protect people with records from employment and housing discrimination. Her proposal would require consideration of the charges and whether someone was convicted, rather than allowing rejection simply for having a record.

The article connects their experiences to our research, which estimates that arrest and conviction records are associated with $18.5 billion in lost annual earnings in Georgia. It also features insights from CSI Data Scientist Liz Johnson on how those losses affect families and communities.