Pub. 5 2020 Issue 4

13 ISSUE 4 2020 Can You Pick and Choose Your Felons? By Elaine M Simpson I s your city, county or state considering a “Fair Chance Housing” Law? We have all heard about Fair Housing, but how about Fair Chance Housing? Human rights commissions around the country have been promoting the passage of “ban the box” or “fair chance” laws to eliminate the criminal-record questions from job and housing applications and to postpone background checks until later in the application process for applicants to be considered on their merits first. Proponents feel the best way to ensure that an individual is successful after he or she leaves Continued on page 14 the unfortunate situation of being incarcerated is to ensure that they find housing and to ensure that they find a job. New laws and ordinances, such as “just housing,” have already passed in several areas. The issues and the laws surrounding them are complex. As one might expect, Se- attle and San Francisco were among the first. Still, Detroit recently adopted a housing ordinance to assist those with a criminal past to obtain housing and “facilitate their reentry into society.”