In their annual State of the State addresses this year, governors across the country have focused on past and future criminal justice reforms, among other pressing priorities. Many governors stressed the importance of providing substance addiction and mental health treatment to people in the criminal justice system, offering educational and workforce opportunities to those who are incarcerated, and improving overall reentry practices—all approaches that can reduce recidivism and spending and create safer communities.
Justice Issues Covered by Governors in Their State of the State Remarks
Reentry and Recidivism Reduction | 10 mentions |
Behavioral Health | 9 |
Education and Employment | 9 |
Prison Environment and Staffing | 6 |
Pretrial and Sentencing | 4 |
Violent Crime | 4 |
Jail and Prison Populations | 3 |
Victims | 2 |
Law Enforcement | 2 |
Racial Bias | 1 |
Juvenile Justice | 1 |
Collateral Consequences | 1 |
Hover over states in the map below to see excerpts from governors’ 2020 State of the State speeches:
Photo credit: New Jersey Chamber of Commerce
About the Authors
Director of Governmental Affairs, Finance, Operations, and Administration
Jamal
Nelson
cultivates
and
maintains
relationships
with
members
of
Congress
and
the
administration
and
acts
as
a
liaison
to
various
coalitions
and
groups
to
effectively
implement
the
legislative
priorities
of
the
CSG
Justice
Center.
Before
joining
the
CSG
Justice
Center
...
in
2009,
Jamal
served
as
deputy
director
of
intergovernmental
affairs
at
the
U.S.
Department
of
Commerce,
where
he
worked
on
international
trade
issues.
Jamal
received
his
BS
in
political
science
from
Southern
Connecticut
State
University.
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Director of Content Strategy, Communications and External Affairs
Leslie
Griffin
leads
the
strategic
creation,
delivery,
and
governance
of
CSG
Justice
Center
content.
She
oversees
the
types
of
content
produced,
the
structure
of
that
content,
and
the
standards
and
guidelines
needed
to
ensure
quality
and
assess
performance.
Prior
to
...
joining
the
CSG
Justice
Center,
Leslie
had
an
18-year
career
in
educational
publishing
overseeing
the
development
of
literature
textbooks
for
grades
6–12.
Leslie
received
her
BA
from
Sarah
Lawrence
College
with
a
concentration
in
English
and
creative
writing.
Read More
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