The Clean Slate Initiative

We’ve learned a lot about the justice system in the last 250 years. About what works, what doesn't work, and what could be much better. On this upcoming birthday of the U.S., our commitment is to do something with those learnings – to apply everything we know about safety, accountability, and justice – and to start building the legacy of the next 250 years.

Because justice in the next 250 doesn’t have to look like the first 250. We know better, and that means it’s time to do better.

Justice & The Next 250 is an invitation to shift our collective focus to what CAN BE, and to lead the way there with expertise, with courage, with conviction. It’s permission to build a justice system future generations can be proud of. For us here at The Clean Slate Initiative, this looks like building a future where people with arrest or conviction records are no longer defined by their past — where automated record sealing opens doors to work, education, and opportunity for the next 250 years.

For more from Justice & The Next 250 and to see what’s to come, follow our partners at The Just Trust.

Clean Slate Replay 2025: Strategy 🤝 Research

Our approach isn’t accidental.

Every Clean Slate policy we advance is shaped by research that asks hard questions about equity, access, and real-world impact.

Research led or funded by CSI in 2025 shows that systems relying on discretion, paperwork, or individual navigation consistently leave people behind — especially those facing racial, economic, or technological barriers.

Automated, state-initiated processes dramatically expand access, while still allowing room for individualized, equitable review in more complex cases.

Read more about these critical findings in our 2025 Annual Report:
https://www.cleanslateinitiative.org/documents/2025-annual-report

"It’ll put people who are educated and overqualified back into positions that need to be filled." See how Oklahoma's new automatic expungement and prison reform laws aim to help hundreds of thousands of people get a true fresh start.

https://ow.ly/sjKK50Z2jev