Celebrating Five Years of The Clean Slate Initiative: From Moment to Momentum

When we launched The Clean Slate Initiative (CSI) in 2020, no one thought it would become what it is today.

Our organization started as a two-year experiment to see if we could pass automated record-sealing laws in a handful of states. We wanted to prove that automated record-sealing is effective, and that bipartisan collaboration leads to real success. In just five years, we’ve done both of those things — and more.

Our Roots: Clean Slate Passes in Pennsylvania

Clean Slate started with a moment in 2018, when Pennsylvania passed the country’s first Clean Slate law under the leadership of Sharon Detrich, Litigation Director at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia. The passage of that bill was historic — not just for the state, but for the nation. For the very first time, arrest and conviction records were being sealed automatically, without requiring people to jump through hoops to access the second chance they’d earned.

That single law lit the spark that would eventually lead to the formation of CSI — a national effort to pass and implement Clean Slate policies across the country.

Starting Small, Thinking Big

Soon, funders and leaders came together to launch the Clean Slate Campaign — what would become what you now know as The Clean Slate Initiative. In 2020, I stepped into the role of Managing Director for the campaign. We were a team of four, launching a national campaign in the middle of a global pandemic. There were no in-person meetings. No handshakes in statehouses. But we had expertise, passion, and a clear goal — and even more determination. We believed in what Clean Slate could become. 

From a Moment to Momentum

The years that followed brought steady progress — and some big wins. Delaware and Virginia passed Clean Slate legislation in 2021. In 2022, California, Oklahoma, and Colorado joined in. That same year, we hosted our first Convening in Detroit, coming together in one room, with one vision, as one voice. Clean Slate was no longer a fringe idea. It was becoming a national conversation.

By 2023, thanks to the support of funders like MacKenzie Scott and The Audacious Project, we were able to scale our work in ways we couldn’t have imagined three years prior. Those investments were a testament to the belief in our strategy, our team, and the vision of a future where people aren’t defined by old arrest and conviction records.

Where We Are Now

Today, CSI is an independent nonprofit with both 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) arms. We’ve grown in size, expanded our reach, and deepened our impact — and through it all, our mission hasn’t changed.

Clean Slate legislation has now passed in 12 states and Washington, DC. More than 16 million people are on a path to sealing their records. More campaigns are underway in Texas, Hawaii, Maryland, Kentucky, and beyond.

We’ve introduced bipartisan bills in Congress, bringing Clean Slate to the federal level. We  launched a data dashboard to provide detailed insights into the crisis of arrest and conviction records in America. We hosted two more Convenings (three next month!), and we commissioned a first-of-its-kind survey demonstrating the impact of Clean Slate policies.

Beyond policy, we’re shifting narratives. Our ongoing narrative research explores how people perceive those with arrest and conviction records — and what messages help move public opinion toward empathy, understanding, and support for second chances.

Looking Ahead

Five years in, we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished. We’ve gone from idea to impact. From moment to momentum. From a fledgling campaign to a fully-built national organization leading on automated record-sealing. 

To our partners and advocates across the country, to the storytellers who’ve shared their lived experiences, to our funders who believed in a big idea before it was proven, and to CSI’s staff members - past and present – we’re here because of you. 

Today, as we mark CSI’s five-year anniversary, it’s clear how far we’ve come — and we’re determined to keep that momentum growing.

The next five years are about going deeper, smarter, and bolder. We’ll grow together, bridge divides, and continue expanding access to second chances. And we’ll never lose sight of the people at the heart of this work: those who are impacted by the very real effects of arrest and conviction records every single day.

When the first Clean Slate bill was signed in Pennsylvania, Sharon Deitrich said, “The people who will be helped by Clean Slate were not given a life sentence...  But they are serving one just the same.”

Clean Slate is changing that. And we’re just getting started.