In 2018, after five years of working diligently as an addiction counselor in Virginia, Rudy Carey received devastating news: He could no longer legally work. The reason? His criminal record included a barrier crime.
Barrier crimes are convictions typically involving abuse or neglect that can impede an individual from later employment. Many states have such laws in place. Virginia's barrier crime law prohibits individuals with a conviction for any of the law's 176 enumerated crimes from working in a "direct care" position. In Carey's case, an assault conviction from 2004 barred him from working as a licensed addiction counselor under Virginia law.
