EXPUNGE.IO

• ruby 1.9.3p545
• Rails 4.0.4

What is this?

This is a website that helps folks with a juvenile record in Illinois:

1. determine if they are likely eligible to expunge their record
2. get in contact with legal aid to complete the expungement process

The idea for this app came from the awesome Juvenile Justice Council of the Mikva Challenge

What's the goal?

To provide a simple & easily share-able landing page that de-mystifies expungement, & ultimately helps more folks kick off the expungement process.

Why?

A juvenile record makes it difficult to get a job (among other things). The good news is that juvenile records don't have to be permanent, as they can be expunged. However, while many qualify for expungement, few people actually end up petitioning. This is whack.

Adapting expunge.io to other states!

You're 100% welcome to steal code/design/ideas.

Some notes for folks interested in re-deploying:

• In retrospect, rails is unnecessary. I'd recommend using a static site generator like jekyll for future deployments.
• Note that most of the work in building this is non-technical - information design rather than coding. Also, make sure you're working with someone at a legal aid organization.
• Outreach deserves a lot of thought. How are people going to find out about your expungement website in the first place?

I'd be happy to chat further: cathyd125 at gmail