-
Self-Assessment for Employment-Focused Reentry Programs
This self-assessment from the National Reentry Resource Center helps programs gauge their capacity to provide integrated reentry and employment interventions, including work readiness, to people with varying risks and needs. -
In Focus: Collecting and Analyzing Baseline Data
This brief focuses on how counties can collect and analyze baseline data on the prevalence of people in their jails who have serious mental illnesses. -
Berkeley Study Shines Light on the Pressures of Being a Corrections Officer
“We started this project because we want to better understand the impact of the work environment on our members and the research wasn’t there,” said Stephen Walker, director of Governmental Affairs for the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. -
Infographic: States Deliver Results (2018)
Using data from Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, this infographic highlights three-year reincarceration rates as reported by state corrections agencies. -
Reentry Matters: Second Chance Act 10th Anniversary Edition
Featuring 21 stories from programs across 19 states, Reentry Matters profiles the impact of Second Chance Act grant-funded programs through both the practitioners who run them and the people who are impacted by them.
Self-Assessment for Employment-Focused Reentry Programs
Recent CSG Justice Center Posts
Wyoming Justice Reinvestment Legislation Signed into Law
In February, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed a package of Justice Reinvestment legislation into law. House Enrolled Act (HEA) 15, Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) 19, HEA 53, and SEA 50 aim to reduce recidivism 25 percent by fiscal year 2024 and avert up to $18.1 million in costs that can be reinvested in increasing the availability and effectiveness of community-based behavioral health treatment for people on probation and parole.
President Trump Signs Legislation to Fund the Federal Government for Fiscal Year 2019
President Trump signed the omnibus fiscal year (FY) 2019 spending bill, which provides $30.9 billion for the U.S. Department of Justice and includes $3.02 billion for various state and local law enforcement assistance grant programs.
Berkeley Study Shines Light on the Pressures of Being a Corrections Officer
It’s widely known that jails and prisons can be violent and stressful places to work. But the well-being of corrections officers has rarely been the subject of formal study.
Georgia Supreme Court Justice Appointed to Lead National Criminal Justice Board
Michael P. Boggs, a Georgia Supreme Court justice, has been appointed chair of The Council of State Governments Justice Center’s Advisory Board.
Pennsylvania Dramatically Lowers State Prison Population in the Wake of Policy Changes
In 2018, Pennsylvania’s state prison population decreased by more than a thousand people, or 2.2 percent, which is the largest recorded year-over-year decrease in the state’s history. The drop is due to decreases in admissions to prison for both new crimes and parole revocations.
North Dakota Governor Lauds Behavioral Health Program in State of the State Speech
On January 3, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum delivered his State of the State address, highlighting progress on a number of fronts, including efforts to combat the state’s behavioral health crisis.
Highlights
- North Dakota Explores Expanding Alternatives to Incarceration and Behavioral Health Services for People in the Criminal Justice System
- Second Chance Act Spotlight: Darius Dennis, Norfolk, Virginia
- WATCH: Arkansas Gov. Hutchinson Meets Face to Face with Client at Newly Opened Crisis Stabilization Unit
- In Focus: Implementing Mental Health Screening and Assessment
- Reentry Essentials: Reducing Recidivism and Improving Other Outcomes for Youth and Young Adults
Announcements
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges 82nd Annual Conference
The conference will present sessions on issues facing the juvenile and family court system.
[Apply Now] Innovative Prosecution Solutions for Combating Violent Crime
The purpose of the program is to provide state, local, and tribal prosecutors with information, resources, and training and technical assistance to develop effective strategies and programs to address and prosecute individuals who commit violent crimes.
WEBINARS
2018 JMHCP Category 1 Grantee Orientation
In this webinar, CSG Justice Center staff explain the training and technical assistance opportunities and resources available to FY18 JMHCP grantees.
2018 JMHCP Grantee Orientation
In this webinar, CSG Justice Center staff explain the training and technical assistance opportunities and resources available to grantees, and staff from the Bureau of Justice Assistance provide an overview of the post-award grant management requirements.
Enhancing Program Success and Sustainability for Women in the Justice System: Targeting System Change Strategies
Featuring Becki Ney of the National Resource Center on Justice-Involved Women, this webinar covers system-level strategies to maximize outcomes for women in the criminal justice system and ensure the sustainability of gender-responsive services.
2018 Second Chance Act Orientation for Adult Reentry and Employment Strategic Planning Grant Program
During this webinar, recipients of 2018 Second Chance Act (SCA) Adult Reentry and Employment Strategic Planning grants received information on the requirements and deliverables of the program. Specifically, grantees learned how they will develop a strategic plan that is comprehensive, collaborative, and multisystemic in its approach to increase economic mobility and reduce recidivism for people returning to the community from incarceration.
2018 Second Chance Act Orientation for the Community-Based Adult Reentry Program: Category 2
During this webinar, grantees received information about the grant program, including steps for getting the program started, submission of the Planning and Implementation Guide, and Bureau of Justice Assistance expectations.
PUBLICATIONS
Justice Reinvestment Initiative: How States Use Data to Design Innovative Strategies to Reduce Crime, Recidivism, and Costs
State policymakers are grappling with upticks in violent crime, the opioid epidemic, people who have mental illnesses in the justice system, high rates of recidivism, and the high cost of corrections, all while trying to improve services for victims and increase opportunities for people returning to communities from jail and prison. To tackle these issues, more than 25 states have partnered with the CSG Justice Center to use a justice reinvestment approach.
Behavioral Health Justice Reinvestment in Oregon: Fourth Presentation
The fourth and final presentation to Oregon’s Behavioral Health Justice Reinvestment Steering Committee provides an overview of the project’s Medicaid and State Hospital analysis results from a criminal justice and health data match.
Justice Reinvestment in New Mexico: Second Presentation
The second presentation to the New Mexico Justice Reinvestment Working Group summarizes findings and policy options related to reducing crime and supporting victims of crime, community supervision, and reincarceration rates.
In Focus: Collecting and Analyzing Baseline Data
This brief focuses on how counties can collect and analyze baseline data on the prevalence of people in their jails who have serious mental illnesses.
Self-Assessment for Employment-Focused Reentry Programs
This self-assessment from the National Reentry Resource Center helps programs gauge their capacity to provide integrated reentry and employment interventions, including work readiness, to people with varying risks and needs.
JUSTICE CENTER IN THE NEWS
Wyoming Legislature Tackles Criminal Justice Reinvestment
The Wyoming Legislature passed a slate of bills aimed at tackling criminal justice reinvestment in Wyoming. Based on recommendations from the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, formed after a nearly year-long study, the bills offer science-based solutions to the pressures on the state’s prison system.
County Joins National Initiative to Reduce Jail Bookings, Connect Mentally Ill Inmates to Help
Since joining Stepping Up in 2016, Dakota County has made multiple key changes, said Angela Lockhart, the county’s integrated service delivery coordinator. About 15 other Minnesota counties are also part of the program, including Ramsey, Carver, Scott, and Hennepin.
County ‘Stepping Up’ to Help the Mentally Ill
On Monday, Cleveland County became one of a handful of Oklahoma counties to pass a Stepping Up resolution to commit to reducing the number of people with mental illness in jail. According to the Stepping Up website, Cleveland County may be only the third in the state to adopt this resolution, with the other two being Grant and Tulsa counties.
Stepping Up Initiative Kicks off in Champaign County
Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Stratton is the project director for the Ohio Stepping Up initiative. Instead of addressing mental illness in jails on a county-by-county basis, Stratton said, Ohio is tackling the problem on a statewide basis. Including Champaign County, there are currently 45 counties in Ohio participating in the initiative.
Louisiana Corrections Building on Successful Efforts to Reduce Recidivism Rate of Former Inmates
From 2004 to 2014, the rate in Louisiana of people who returned to prison within three years of their release decreased by 12 percent, according to a national justice organization’s November report on prisoners affected by Second Chance Act programs. The report shows that almost 39 of every 100 such former inmates in Louisiana returned to prison within a three year window in 2004, but in 2014, 34 per 100 did.
St. Paul Police Expanding New Mental Health Unit
Like law enforcement agencies everywhere, the St. Paul Police Department gets a lot of calls for mental health crises, which take a lot of officers’ time and cost a lot of money. So far this year, Ramsey County dispatchers have handled almost 6,000 calls involving mental health. That’s about 2 percent of incoming 911 calls.