A bill that will reduce barriers to employment and education for felons when they leave prison was signed yesterday by Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the Columbus Dispatch reports. The “collateral sanctions” law will make it easier for people getting out of prison to get jobs cutting hair, working construction, selling hearing aids, and working as security guards.
Judges will be able to award certificates to remove job barriers and protect employers from potential liability. Also, courts can order community service instead of fines or driver's-license revocation for non-driving offenses, and child-support orders can be modified when inmates are in jail or have a felony record. Today, Kasich will sign an anti-human-trafficking bill that shields juvenile human-trafficking victims from prostitution charges and institutes a mandatory 10-to-15-year prison term for trafficking.