Laura Sovine, Past Chair, Austin/Travis County Reentry Roundtable Planning Council Director of Operations, Austin Recovery What brought you to this work? While I was in graduate school to be a therapist, my mom married a man with two sons in prison; one was incarcerated in Georgia and the other was in Huntsville, Texas. My mom […]
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Kenneth Thompson, Member and Past Co-Chair, Austin/Travis County Reentry Roundtable Planning Council Fatherhood Program Specialist, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services How long have you been involved with the Roundtable and what brought you to this work? I have been involved with the Reentry Roundtable since about two years after it began. I […]
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Helen Gaebler, Past Chair, Austin/Travis County Reentry Roundtable Planning Council Senior Research Attorney, William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law, UT School of Law Tell me about your professional background. I grew up in Wisconsin and attended law school there. After graduating and clerking for a year at the Wisconsin Supreme Court, I […]
Read MoreThe Reentry Roundtable has launched an Advocacy Fellowship Program for individuals with lived experience navigating the criminal justice system and reentering the community, and we are thrilled to announce Lauren Johnson as our inaugural Fellow! Lauren previously served as a member of the Planning Council and XOffenders’ Council. Her fellowship commenced on February 1st and will continue […]
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In limited circumstances, Texas law allows you to remove information about an arrest, charge, or conviction from your criminal records. This means that all information about the offense is destroyed. Once your record is expunged, you may deny the incident occurred. With limited exceptions, you will no longer need to tell landlords, employers, or others […]
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Please join us for the 6th Annual Statewide Reentry Conference! When: Wednesday, January 20, 2016 from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM Where: Texas State Capitol Cost: Free! Panelists: Rep. Senfronia Thompson Sheriff Troy Nehls, Ft. Bend County Dr. William Lawson Judge Sarah Eckhardt In Partnership With: This conference is hosted by the Travis County Criminal Justice Planning Department in partnership […]
Read MoreAbout two weeks ago, City Council’s Economic Opportunity Committee took the first step toward mandating removal of the box on employment applications indicating whether the applicant has a criminal record. However, the rest of the package of proposals for fair chance hiring – all related to helping people with criminal records get jobs – was […]
Read More2015 has been a year of momentum and progress for the Roundtable. Due to the focus of the Strategic Plan as well as a strengthened administrative structure, we have undertaken a number of critical initiatives and have been able to capitalize on strategic partnership opportunities. Read our 2015 Annual Report to learn: The progress we’ve made on […]
Read MoreThe Austin Chronicle wrote a great article about fair chance hiring and the work that is being done locally to Ban the Box citywide. We are so proud that they quote and acknowledge the activism of many of our XOffenders’ Council members in the article! Read the article here.
Read MoreWe recently posted several new reports and resources related to reentry on our Publications & Policy Information page. Here are brief summaries of these new resources. Click to links to read the reports! Substance Use & Housing National Leadership Forum Convening Report by CSH and the National Council for Behavioral Health For the past year, a broad cross-section of […]
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