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Reentry

Get an ID after release

Sione came home with no birth certificate, no Social Security card, and an expired ID.

Sione. Sione was released after six years with no birth certificate, no Social Security card, and an expired ID. Without them he cannot apply for a job, open a bank account, or get his SNAP and Medicaid started.

Legal outcome they want
Sione has a valid state ID and the documents to prove who he is.
Life outcome they want
Sione can start work and claim benefits in his first weeks home.

The problem

People released after a long sentence can leave without a birth certificate, a Social Security card, or a valid ID. Each document often requires another as proof, and an office may ask for an ID before it will issue the papers needed to get one. Without identification, people cannot start most jobs, open a bank account, rent a home, or begin benefits.

The legal outcome

The legal outcome is a valid state ID and the underlying documents that prove identity. Getting there can involve requesting a birth certificate from another state, using release papers as proof of identity where that is allowed, applying for fee waivers, and visiting several offices in the right order.

The life outcome

The life outcome is starting work, receiving benefits, and setting up a stable life in the first weeks home. How could people have their identity documents in hand at release, or within days of it?

One story of how this service works today

Where this story ends todayMany people go weeks without ID, which delays work and benefits.

  1. Community, family, or navigatorA family member picks him up at release
  2. Non-expert helperRelease staff give him a list of offices
  3. Specialized techThe vital records office asks for ID he lacks
  4. Off-the-shelf techSearches online for the birth certificate request
  5. Expert helperLegal aid helps with a fee waiver and affidavit
  6. The personVisits the ID office three times

Where people drop offEach office needs a document from another office, and fees stop people in their first weeks.

A dashed step is one where people drop out of this story.

This is one story of how the service works today. It is a draft written for people to react to and change, and another place will look different.