Trauma-Informed Expungement Support for Criminalized Survivors: The Role of Victim Service Providers

Expungement can reduce the enduring barriers of criminal records that limit reentry and economic stability for justice-involved individuals, particularly those with histories of victimization. Victim Service Providers (VSPs) are well positioned to facilitate access to expungement and sealing services for clients at the intersection of victimization and justice involvement, but face challenges related to legal complexity, costs, and capacity. Using the 2019 National Survey of Victim Service Providers (n = 2,428), this study examines how VSPs address record relief needs and explores organizational, structural, and client-related correlates of providing or referring clients for expungement or sealing services. Guided by trauma-to-justice-involvement frameworks, we analyze correlates such as staffing, years in operation, justice system collaboration, case management system use, and service comprehensiveness. Findings inform how VSPs can coordinate trauma-informed expungement referrals and support to reduce stigma, facilitate rehabilitation, and improve reentry outcomes for individuals within the victim-offender overlap, advancing policy and practice within victim services and justice reform.