The Cuomo administration is planning 12 measures intended to help prison inmates return to communities by lowering barriers to housing, health care and hiring.
The measures were recommended by advocates and experts on prison re-entry tasked by Gov. Andrew Cuomo last year.
For subsidized housing, new guidance will prohibit rejecting applicants based solely on a criminal conviction, requiring operators consider each applicant's case, seriousness of their offense, time elapsed since and evidence of rehabilitation.
New guidance for state agency hiring says applicants won't have to disclose past convictions unless they've been interviewed and the agency is interested in hiring them.
Expanded Medicaid enrollment efforts will continue, with added housing and treatment capacity for mentally ill inmates returning to New York City.
© 2015 AP
