As part of Re-entry Awareness Week, legal aid will be available to former prisoners today at the Arkansas Community Corrections Probation Parole Office at 307 American Road.
Ben Seay, a staff lawyer for the Center for Arkansas Legal Services, will be at the office this morning to advise and assist former prisoners with sealing their criminal records.
“The main benefit of sealing records is that there is a law that says if you get that record sealed and you are applying for employment or housing, qualifying for a loan or something, and there’s a box there that says ‘been convicted of a crime?’ you can say no,” Seay said.
Seay said several types of convictions can be sealed, including misdemeanors and class C and D felonies; class Y, A and B felony convictions typically can not be sealed due to their severity.
“We’re talking about, yes, all kinds of violent crimes … those cannot be sealed. Those (Class Y, A and B felonies) are defined by Arkansas law as a felony involving violence,” Seay said.
Seay will only be assisting former prisoners with sealing state convictions; federal convictions will not apply here. He also said that those wishing to have their records sealed should bring a list of their criminal convictions, which are available on the Arkansas Crime Information Center website under the Forms heading.
Additionally, in Union County, former prisoners must petition five entities before they are able to have their records sealed; Seay said he must have the completed petition before he will file a petition to seal the records on a person’s behalf.
“And let me explain [why]: The possible people who may object to them getting their records sealed are the very people in agencies that they have to get this signed off on before they even file a petition,” Seay said. “So if you find out before you file your petition that you know the prosecuting attorney is going to object to it, and if they do so for a legal reason, then, you know, it would be best not to waste your $50 (filing fee) and not go forward with it.”
Arkansas Legal Services offers a variety of free legal services for low-income Arkansans. Seay said it has become increasingly difficult to provide those resources in recent years because funding for the services has been drying up.
Federal funding for the program began under President Lyndon B. Johnson as part of his War on Poverty. Seay said there is a huge need in rural areas for lawyers to provide basic legal services.
Arkansas Legal Services is a nonprofit organization. In addition to their federal funding, they also accept charitable donations and grants.
Seay said having a criminal record sealed can open up many opportunities that might not have otherwise been available to a person who was formerly incarcerated.
“It resolves the legal problem that you had, which empowers you to spend your time and resources to other, better things,” Seay said. “Having a legal problem takes time, attention, energy, resources, and when you’re done with it, you’re able to devote your time and resources and attention to other, hopefully, more positive or profitable things.”
In addition to Seay, representatives from the Department of Veterans Affairs will be at the Probation Parole Office today to speak with former prisoners about acquiring VA disability benefits, where eligible. The VA reps will also help former prisoners file DD214 forms, which are needed to verify military service for benefits, retirement, employment and membership in veterans’ organizations.
Representatives from the Social Security Administration will assist former prisoners with acquiring important documentation, like birth certificates and social security cards.
“These documents help these offenders gain employment, which is a foundation that must be attained in order to successfully re-enter not only the community, but their families as well,” said Corey Charles, a re-entry officer for ACC. “These documents also help those individuals achieve another goal, such as gaining IDs and drivers licenses, which helps them gain ground on another barrier … transportation.”
The Social Security Administration will also be helping former prisoners that have a disability work towards getting supplemental security income. Charles said that oftentimes, when a person re-enters society, they are not aware of benefits they are entitled to.
Today is ACC Amnesty Day. Parole absconders can come to the Probation Parole Office today to resume their supervision. They will not face jail time for missing previous reporting requirements.
“These are marked as absconded, failures to report,” Charles said. “It’s really tailored to help them out, because some individuals – they mess up. We all are individuals that mess up. And they don’t know how to react so they just primarily do the wrong thing, so this (Amnesty Day) is just to encourage them to come in and do the right thing, get back on track and get their lives back on track.”
To learn more about Re-entry Awareness Week, contact [email protected]. To find more information about the Center for Legal Services and sealing one’s criminal record, visit arlegalservices.org.
Caitlan Butler can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].