In 2010, City Council declared Charlottesville to be “A City of Second Chances” for ex-offenders, and that all departments of City Government must continue to give fair and appropriate review to all ex-offenders’ applications for employment and make hiring decisions in such cases based on the applicants’ knowledge, skills, abilities and potential for success. Council urged all area employers, public and private, large and small, to join in the effort to promote the successful re-entry of ex-offenders into our community by considering each ex-offender’s application for employment, without prejudice arising from the fact that the applicant has been incarcerated. In collaboration with the Charlottesville Department of Social Services and Offender Aid & Restoration (OAR/JACC), a local nonprofit that provides a host of criminal justice services to address the needs of our community, our local Prisoner Reentry Council was established to develop local plans that identify available resources and methods for interagency coordination and increased service effectiveness.