A joint job fair and expungement clinic takes place this week at the Route 9 Library and Innovation Center in New Castle.
As part of Second Chance Month, the Delaware Department of Justice’s Community Engagement Unit is partnering with the Delaware Center for Justice and some community groups to host the fair and clinic.
With a 2019 law allowing felony convictions expunged, the DOJ’s Community Engagement Specialist Corie Priest says the state is seeing more and more expungements.
"Since then, I think we've had record numbers of applicants seeking to get their records expunged, and so right now the landscape in Delaware is that more people are applying for expungements than ever before. And there's a need for people to be educated on the process thus having these events where we can pull criminal history and see if folks are eligible for an expungement," said Priest.
The fair is supported by charitable funding from Amazon covering expungement or pardon process costs for those attending according to Priest.
"Amazon is generously donated to this event which in fact allows for the folks to come and leave their wallets at home,” said Priest. “So you don't have to pay for the expungement process, you don't have to pay for the pardon process. You also don't have to pay for the food that's going to be there."
The expungement clinic will also be available online via Zoom, but the job fair is in-person only.
Walk-ins will be welcome, but those attending are strongly encouraged to pre-register online. You can register or attend virtually at bit.ly/2ndchancesfair
The fair and clinic is Thursday, April 28 from noon-6 p.m. at the Route 9 Library.
