Listening Session + Focus Group Updates
The community listening sessions and practitioner focus groups for the fall of 2025 have been scheduled, locations still TBD.
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Find a date that works for you and RSVP here.
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Event pages will be updated with locations as they are confirmed.​
Background
The consequences of a criminal record can be devastating. Private sector criminal background checks are widely used to screen applicants for housing, employment, and volunteering opportunities. A law in 2024 sought to address this discrimination: “Clean Slate” was enacted by the Minnesota State legislature to automatically seal many criminal records. But the extent to which these companies comply with the new law is unknown.
At the Minnesota Justice Research Center, we want to know… Is the law working? Are private companies complying? Are people experiencing the impact?
Image from the Clean Slate Initiative, the national effort to "pass and implement laws that automate record sealing for people with eligible records who have completed their sentence and remained crime-free, and to expand who is eligible for sealin"​​​​​
The Project
In partnership with the University of Maryland and Northeastern University, we will measure the implementation and effectiveness of the Clean Slate law in Minnesota.
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MNJRC will hold a series of listening sessions for community members and focus groups for practitioners, disseminate results, and provide “Know Your Rights” seminars.
What's Next + Get Involved
In the next stage of the research process, MNJRC will conduct community listening sessions and practitioner focus groups to improve our understanding of Minnesotans' day-to-day experiences with background checks and expungements. These will take place in late summer/early fall of 2025. We'd love to connect with you.​
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Have you been rejected from a job because of your criminal background?
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Have you ever tried to have your background officially cleared?
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Have you heard about Minnesota’s new Clean Slate law and wondered how and whether it will work?​​​
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Have you ever worked with clients to expunge a record?
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Have you used criminal background checks in your work and run into issues?
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Have you helped clients remedy or challenge a criminal record?​
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You can also support this project and others by donating to the Minnesota Justice Research Center. Your contributions make a difference in how we're able to do our work.
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Research Team
Research Director, MNJRC
Community Impact Director, MNJRC
Research Manager
Partners
Assistant Professor, University of Maryland
Associate Professor, Northeastern University
