The Clean Slate Initiative (CSI)

Established as its own nonprofit organization in 2024, The Clean Slate Initiative (CSI) exists to help the roughly 70–100 million American adults with an arrest or conviction record — nearly one in three adults nationally, and a disproportionate share of Black adults (nearly 50%, compared to 27% of white adults) — move past their records and access employment, housing, education, and economic assistance. CSI's mission is to pass and implement "Clean Slate" laws that automate record sealing for people who have completed their sentence and remained crime-free, and to expand who is eligible for that relief. Clean Slate legislation remains a rare bipartisan-appeal issue even in a polarized political environment, with wins in both red and blue states.

Operating nationally with a talented 48-person staff, CSI expects continued growth as it seeks to build out its leadership and program capacity. The organization works across a national footprint, with active legislative campaigns and implementation support in states nationwide and a growing regional focus in the South. CSI operates as a multi-entity structure, including a 501(c)(3) and an affiliated 501(c)(4) (Clean Slate Now), each with its own distinct Board of Directors. At this inflection point for the organization, CSI is expanding its programmatic focus from passing legislation to a more expansive, multi-front strategy that includes implementation and notification, narrative change, and regional groundwork with a focus on Southern states.

The organization’s growth trajectory is being guided by a new five-year strategic plan (July 2026-December 2031), which sets ambitious goals including the passage of full Clean Slate legislation in 24 states plus DC and ensuring eligibility for automated sealing for 24 million people. To support these goals, an organizational restructuring, made effective in August of 2026, has consolidated departments, redefined the role of the CEO, created a new President position, and added new senior leadership positions to the team.