THE DANDELION CONNECTION
Ellicott Square Building., 295 Main Street Room 495, Buffalo, New York 14203
(716) 847-0655 ext. 402  www.nls.org

in this issue..
Rap Sheets, Arrest Records and Employment
Employment News from DSS
Community Spotlight:Medical Mission
Expedited Food Stamps
Fair Hearing Tips
Consumer Numbers to Remember
Recipe Daniel's Stuffed Peppers

Text reprinted with permission from “ How to Get and Clean Up Your New York State Rap Sheet” published by the Legal Action Center of the City of New York, Inc. (212) 243-1313.

        Have you ever been arrested and fingerprinted in New York? Have you ever been convicted of a crime? Is this keeping you from getting the job that you really want? If so, this month’s Dandelion Connection can help! In this issue we will focus on rap sheets and employment. Next month’s Dandelion Connection will tell you how to get and clean up your rap sheet to help you pursue employment.

        If you have ever been arrested and fingerprinted in New York, even if you weren’t found guilty of the charges, you have a “rap sheet” or an arrest record on permanent file. Many criminal justice agencies (like the police, courts, etc.) have the right to see your rap sheet. Also, certain employers and others may also have access to your criminal records.

        Most employers cannot see your rap sheet. But some can. Those who can are:

Public Employers (federal, state and local government agencies), Child Care Agencies, Hospitals, Museums, Home Health Care Agencies, Financial institutions, and Schools and companies hiring school bus drivers and bus attendants.

        No. New York law prohibits employers from discriminating against you as an ex-offender simply because you have a record. Employers may deny you only if the offense is directly job related or if your criminal record indicates that you may be a threat to people or property.

        Employers can only ask about convictions, they are not entitled to information about arrests that did not lead to convictions. If you are asked about arrests that did not result in a conviction, you are only required to list your convictions. However you must list the convictions. If you are asked about arrests and don’t tell about your convictions, then you can be fired for not being truthful on your application.

        Before you fill out an employment application, you have to understand what a conviction is. A conviction is a guilty plea or a court’s finding of guilt for a “crime” or an “offense.”

Felonies:     “A,”     “B, ”     “C,”     “D,”      or     “E.”

Misdemeanors:     “A”     or      “B.”

Violations: non-criminal offenses that can be charged in the form of a summons (desk appearance ticket or “DAT”) or an arrest.

Traffic Infractions: often are charged in the form of a summons and do not require an arrest.

Note: You can have a conviction even though you never served time in jail. If you received probation, paid a fine, did community service, or received a conditional or unconditional discharge, you had a conviction.

        New York State law requires that you disclose conviction information if you are asked by a prospective employer about your criminal history. If the employer asks about arrests, you only need to disclose your convictions. The only exception to this rule is when you apply for a law enforcement job. In this field, you are required to list all arrests, including those that did not result in a conviction, as well as traffic summonses.

A: If you have any arrests that resulted in a conviction, answer “yes.” (Remember, a guilty plea to any offense and/or crime is a conviction.) List all convictions. (See discussion which follows, “How Do I List My Convictions? which explains how you should list your convictions.)

If you have arrests, but none resulted in a conviction, answer “no.” This is because it is illegal to ask about arrests that did not result in a conviction and New York law permits you to answer “no” to an illegal question in this situation. (The only exception is if you are applying for a law enforcement job. See discussion above.)

A: If you have any arrests that resulted in a misdemeanor or felony conviction, answer “yes.” List all misdemeanor and felony convictions. (See discussion which follows, “How Do I List My Convictions?) which explains how you should list your convictions.

If you have arrests, but none resulted in a felony or misdemeanor conviction, or you were only convicted of an offense, answer “no.”

A: If you answered “yes,” list all convictions. (See discussion which follows).

A: If you have answered “yes,” list all convictions.

A: If you answered “yes,” list misdemeanor and felony convictions during the past seven years. (Remember, violations and traffic infractions are offenses, not crimes.)

A: If you answered “yes,” list all convictions.

        Again, you must disclose your convictions. Pay attention to the questions you are asked. If the application allows you to eliminate some cases, such as those that resulted in a traffic infraction or violation conviction, or the employer is only interested in knowing about convictions within the past five or seven years, then only disclose the information requested. Most employers want to know – and are entitled to know – the “disposition” (or outcome) of those cases that resulted in conviction (but not those that did not). You should be prepared to provide some basic information, such as the arrest date, disposition date, crime or offense you were convicted of, and sentence. For example:

Arrest Date         Disposition Date          Conviction          Sentence          Rehabilitation

5/28/69                  10/30/69                  PL 160.05         4 years            Certificate of Relief

        Under the conviction heading, notice that you should put the New York State Penal Law citation for the charge. This number is the provision of the criminal code that defines the charge.

        Keep in mind that you may have to explain your cases in detail at an interview, so you will need to understand the charges that you have been convicted of. This means you should review your record and be able to briefly explain the circumstances underlying your convictions, so that you can highlight all of your successes and accomplishments since then. Most important, you should provide evidence of rehabilitation that addresses the nature of your convictions. For example, if your convictions were drug-related, provide reference letters from a treatment provider or counselor who can confirm your successful recovery and from a clergy, community or family member who can say how you have changed.

THE KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS IS PREPARATION.
GOOD LUCK!

Job Search Tips from the ECDSS

        There is nothing magical about looking for a job. But it does take a plan and some hard work. The more applications you file, the faster you will get an interview. The more interviews you have, the faster you will get a job.

1. Tell everyone you know that you are looking for a job. This should include your family, friends, neighbors, people you do business with, people you know from religious organizations, teachers, former classmates, athletic teammates, etc.

2. Check out classified newspaper ads (special sections for employment are in the Sunday and Tuesday Buffalo News), Pennysavers, community newspapers for the help wanted section.

3. Go to your public library and investigate the areas set up on job information.

4. Make sure you register with the New York State Department of Labor. They offer many services to the job seeker and have computer listings of jobs.

5. Contact employment and temporary employment agencies. Many times a temporary job leads to a permanent one.

6. Check out these places for job leads: community organizations, union offices, college placement offices, civil service office for the City of Buffalo, Erie County, New York State and the federal government.

7. Attend job fair events. If you are receiving public assistance benefits, contact your employment counselor to find out about the next mini-job fair event to be held at the DSS employment office.

8. Look in the telephone book (white & yellow pages) for companies in fields in which you have a special interest.

Writing a Resume

This is the information you will need to gather before you write a resume:

• Your name, address and a telephone number where you may be contacted

• Names and addresses of schools you attended and any special courses you took. Also, include the dates when you attended and/or graduated.

• Names and addresses and phone numbers of your previous employers. You will also need the dates you started and left the jobs and your job duties.

There are many places you can go to get help in putting your resume together. Some offer workshops, others individual sessions.

• Buffalo Employment & Training Center                                             • New York State DOL
  77 Goodell Street                                                                                264 Main Street
  Buffalo, NY 14203                                                                             Buffalo, NY 14202
  856-5627                                                                                           851-2600

• Erie County College Employment & Training Center                         • Erie County DSS Employment
  3176 Abbott Road                                                                              478 Main Street
  Orchard Park, NY 14127                                                                   Buffalo, NY 14202
  825-2525

Contact your employment counselor

MEDICAL MISSION

Why A Medical Mission?

44 million Americans are uninsured. 8 out of 10 of these are workers in our country or their dependents. What does this mean? This means:

Postponing necessary care and foregoing preventive care. Having no regular doctor and limited access to prescription medication. Delaying care.

We believe we have the necessary resources within Churches in Action to establish a Medical Clinic which can begin a ministry to the medically indigent in our community.

The Churches in Action Medical Clinic is a non-profit, interdenominational Christian medical organization. Our goal is to provide compassionate and practical help to those in need, ministering to the whole person. This includes providing health care for the medically indigent and a range of other services aimed either at meeting basic needs or equipping people with the tools needed to improve the quality of their lives and/or become self-sufficient.

The CIA Medical Clinic will provide FREE health care by qualified licensed professionals. No need for medical insurance. All check-ups will be conducted free of charge.

The Churches in Action Medical Mission have been open to the public since March 23, 2002. They are open to serve the fourth Saturday of every month from 10:30am - 12:30pm at the Hamburg Presbyterian Church 177 Main Street Hamburg, New York 14075. For information call Russell Rich, President (716) 648-5785

Charlotte Lujan (716) 649-8493

Expedited Food Stamps are food stamps you can get quickly. You and members of your household may be eligible for them if you are in one of the following categories:

1. Your household has $100 or less in liquid resources and less than $150 in gross monthly income. Liquid resources are money that is available to you, such as cash on hand, bank accounts, savings certificates, and lump-sum payments (tax refunds, retroactive lump-sum Social Security, SSI, or public assistance payments), or

2. You are a migrant or seasonal farm worker without money or resources, or

3. Together, your monthly income and liquid resources are less than the total of your monthly rent or mortgage and heating costs and utilities (electricity, telephone, and water).

Go to the first floor of the Rath Building, 95 Franklin Street, Buffalo, New York. Tell the worker that you are in need of Expedited Food Stamps.

The worker should give you an application to fill out. The only thing that you will have to prove to get your first month of food stamps is your identity. You can show your identity by producing a driver's license, birth certificate, or Social Security card, library card etc. If you don’t have written proof, the worker should use collateral contacts (e.g., calling your friends, neighbors etc.) to verify your identity.

You will be screened for Expedited Food Stamps. The screening must be conducted on the same day you request Expedited Food Stamps.

You will get Expedited Food Stamps within 5 days. If you have no food, ask for an immediate referral to a food pantry.

Not automatically. In order to continue receiving Food Stamps, you must complete the regular application process. This means that you will be called back for another interview and asked to submit documents. If you do not follow through, you will not continue to receive Food Stamps.

If you can't travel for medical reasons or because you do not have transportation, you can appoint a representative to go to DSS and apply for Expedited Food Stamps for you. You can also call and ask to have an application mailed to you.

If you don't have anyone to appoint as your representative, you can call the Food Stamp Office at 858-8347 and ask them to waive the face-to-face interview. If they agree, an application will be mailed to you to fill out and mail back. It is important that you mail back the application as soon as possible, because the processing period will not begin until the signed application is received by DSS. If you need help filling out the application, ask for a telephone interview. After the interview, DSS will mail the completed application for you to sign.

        When you request a fair hearing and you need to know what the agency is going to produce at the hearing in the way of evidence, remember, you have the right to view your file. A better and easier way of discovering what the agency has is to write your worker and ask for the “fair hearing summary.” Try to request the summary as early as possible. The agency is obligated to give you a copy of the summary free of charge. Once you receive the summary and it contains evidence which you dispute, try to obtain evidence which strengthens your case. The more credible evidence you have in support of your case, the better your chance of winning the hearing. Have addresses and telephone numbers on any and all letters you submit at the hearing. The Administrative Law Judge just might try to contact the person for further verification. I find it is always better to have your witness come in person and testify on your behalf at the hearing if possible.

        NOTE: If you think the case is too complicated, call and ask for legal assistance.