Tracie Johnson

Hosted by Community Legal Services of Philadelphia
Sponsored by Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Service location Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Law school Temple University Beasley School of Law
Issue area Children/Youth
Fellowship class year 2018
Program Design Your Own Fellowship

The Project

Tracie represented, engaged, and advocated for young women of color in Philadelphia who have criminal records to increase their access to meaningful employment opportunities and fight intergenerational poverty.

Young women of color with criminal records face enormous barriers to gaining employment in fields such as childcare, health care, and cosmetology due to their criminal records. Supports and services that connect individuals with criminal records to job opportunities are male-oriented and often limit career options to positions in areas like warehousing and truck-driving. Legal services help these young women fight intergenerational poverty and change the trajectory of their lives. Collaborating with community partners helps meet the intersecting needs of women who have come into contact with the criminal justice system due to histories of trauma, poverty, mental health issues, and substance abuse.

Fellowship Highlights

During the two-year Fellowship period, Tracie:

Provided full representation to over 90 clients, clearing juvenile and adult criminal records, waiving court fines and fees, restoring jobs, and opening doors to higher education
Conducted trainings for job developers, as well as affected youth and women, about employers’ use of criminal records
Testified before City Council about the urgent need for Philadelphia-area colleges and universities to ban the criminal records question from their applications
Worked with State Representative Morgan Cephas on draft legislation to prohibit colleges and university in Pennsylvania from asking about certain criminal histories on their applications
Joined two reentry coalitions, forging connections with reentry support providers and job developers
Facilitated multiple CLE events on record clearing support and employment advocacy

Next Steps

Following her Fellowship, Tracie became the primary staff attorney for Community Legal Services’ Youth Justice Project. She continues to meet the unique legal needs of girls with criminal records.