RESOLUTION NO. _____________

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, COUNTY OF SAN MATEO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA

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RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF CHANGING THE COUNTY’S EMPLOYMENT APPLICATION TO REDUCE BARRIERS FOR EX-OFFENDERS

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RESOLVED, by the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Mateo, State of California, that

WHEREAS, the County of San Mateo strives to employ qualified individuals, who serve residents with excellence and professionalism and, for many individuals, employment with the County of San Mateo is a pathway to a rewarding career of public service; and

WHEREAS, one of the primary goals of the criminal justice system is to rehabilitate incarcerated individuals and enable their successful reintegration as productive members of society; and

WHEREAS, the University of San Francisco Law Review states that “the task of reintegrating the ex-offender into employment is a valuable task for society to undertake because unemployment is strongly correlated with recidivism;” and

WHEREAS, when the County of San Mateo addresses issues of public safety, it recognizes the importance of providing rehabilitation opportunities to reduce costly recidivism; and

WHEREAS, county government, as one of the largest employers in San Mateo County, can provide opportunities for ex-offenders to reintegrate as working and productive residents and such efforts will serve as a model for other employers in the County; and

WHEREAS, the disclosure of criminal convictions on government employment applications and the availability of such information throughout the hiring process can be a substantial deterrent and impediment for a rehabilitated individual seeking productive employment and the County of San Mateo has, until now, required the disclosure of criminal convictions by applicants on the first page of the employment application with such information then available to all departmental staff involved in the examination process; and

WHEREAS, by revising its examination processes so that criminal conviction information will be recorded on a document that is maintained separately and independently from the employment application and by keeping such conviction information confidential from all County employees except limited Human Resources staff and the applicable department heads the County believes such revised processes will encourage qualified individuals, regardless of prior criminal convictions, to apply for employment with county government which will, in turn, facilitate rehabilitation opportunities for those who seek them and reduce instances of recidivism in our community.

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED that San Mateo County will reduce barriers to employment for ex-offenders by changing its employment application.

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