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Integrated Reentry & Employment Strategies: Pilot Project Process Evaluation Report
The IRES Pilot Project Process Evaluation Report details the findings of comprehensive analysis of two pilot sites–Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, and Palm Beach County, Florida–seeking to integrate the efforts of their corrections and workforce development systems. -
On Track: How Well Are States Preparing Youth in the Juvenile Justice System for Employment?
Drawing on first-of-its-kind survey data collected from all 50 states, this brief establishes an unprecedented baseline for understanding how juvenile correctional agencies are preparing youth for employment. -
Opinion: Epstein Suicide Highlights Staffing Crisis in U.S. Prisons and Jails
Critics sometimes refer to American prisons as “warehouses,” but that suggests that people go out the same way they came in. Recent events remind us that understaffed prisons can cause harm, not only for people who are incarcerated, but also those who work there. -
Stepping Up Initiative Celebrates 500 Counties Milestone
“Stepping Up was born out of conversations with community leaders, law enforcement officials, and behavioral health specialists, who told us that the number of people with mental illnesses coming into their jails was a top challenge for them,” said Megan Quattlebaum, director of the CSG Justice Center. -
New Analysis Shows How Parole and Probation Violations Significantly Impact States’ Prison Populations and Budgets
New data reveals the startling extent to which probation and parole violations contribute to states’ high prison admissions and populations, as well as the subsequent cost to taxpayers.
Integrated Reentry & Employment Strategies: Pilot Project Process Evaluation Report
Recent CSG Justice Center Posts
“Purpose, Necessity, and Impact”: Reflections from the Transforming Juvenile Probation Certificate Program
After participating in the week-long, intensive Transforming Juvenile Probation Certificate Program, several participants share what they learned and aim to implement in their jurisdictions.
New Restitution Resource Center Will Help States Improve Services for Crime Victims
The Restitution Resource Center will help states improve the quality of their restitution systems by providing a central source for best practices and successful innovations in the field as well as facilitating peer networks and information exchange.
Seven Sites Selected for Intensive Training to Transform Juvenile Probation
Cross-disciplinary teams from these jurisdictions will complete a weeklong intensive training onsite in Washington, DC. Alongside experts from CJJR, the CSG Justice Center, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, these teams—comprising chief probation officers, field probation officers, judges, prosecutors, and other officials—will collaboratively develop a capstone project and strategic action plan that details the specific changes they plan to enact upon completion of the training that will improve their system and the opportunities for youth within it.
Massachusetts Expands Investments to Reduce Recidivism
Last year, Massachusetts passed legislation representing the most significant changes to the state’s criminal justice system in decades. This legislation took concrete steps to incentivize good behavior in prison, divert people to treatment and programming as an alternative to incarceration, and strengthen community supervision.
Arkansas Crisis Stabilization Units Are Keeping People Out of Jail
Before these units existed, people experiencing a mental health crisis who came into contact with police were often taken to jail, which caused crowding in county jails that are simply not equipped to provide the kind of care and treatment that crisis stabilization units can.
Training Offers Tools to Deliver Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions to Reduce Recidivism
“We have just finished the first module of the course and can see the commitment and determination mounting as the women in our class advance through each session,” said Deborah Simmons, founder of The Reentry Initiative, which is delivering CBI-CA to participants in the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility in Colorado.
Highlights
- Online Course: Ten Steps to Transforming Probation Departments to Reduce Recidivism
- With Second Chance Act Grant, Probation Officer Brings Positive Change to Maricopa County
- In Focus: Conducting a Comprehensive Process Analysis
- New Analysis Shows How Parole and Probation Violations Significantly Impact States’ Prison Populations and Budgets
- Connecticut and Sonoma County, California Kick off Data-Driven Effort to Overhaul Juvenile Justice Systems
Announcements
2020 National Conference on Juvenile Justice
The conference will explore gaps in services, discover new and improved practices, share cutting edge research, and motivate participants to explore positive case outcomes for youth involved in the delinquency system.
2020 National Association of Counties Legislative Conference
The conference will bring together nearly 2,000 elected and appointed county officials to focus on federal policy issues, including those related to criminal justice, that impact counties and their residents.
WEBINARS
2019 JMHCP Grantee Orientation: Category 2
In this webinar staff from BJA provide an overview of the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP) Category 2 grant requirements.
2019 JMHCP Grantee Orientation: Category 3
In this webinar staff from BJA provide an overview of the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP) Category 3 grant requirements. CSG Justice Center staff explain the training and technical assistance opportunities, and the other resources available to law enforcement grantees.
Process Measures at the Interface of Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health
The data collection and evaluation learning community series for JMHCP and SCA grantees focuses on topics related to quality assurance and implementation science. This session was focused on “study and act” of the Plan, Do, Study, Act process featuring Dr. Faye Taxman from George Mason University and grantee speaker, Melissa Pierson from Franklin County, OH.
2019 JMHCP General Orientation Webinar Part 2: Grant Management and Financial Reporting
In this webinar, staff from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance provide an overview about the post-award budget, grant management, and performance measurement requirements.
2019 JMHCP Orientation Webinar Part 1: Training and Technical Assistance Overview
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.
PUBLICATIONS
Justice Reinvestment in Maine: Third Presentation
The third presentation to the Maine Commission to Improve the Sentencing, Supervision, Incarceration and Management of Prisoners related to the Justice Reinvestment Initiative.
Justice Reinvestment in Maine: Second Presentation
The second presentation to the Maine Commission to Improve the Sentencing, Supervision, Incarceration and Management of Prisoners focuses on data analyses of arrests, criminal history, and criminal case filings as well as probation policy and practice assessment in Maine.
Justice Reinvestment in Vermont: Third Presentation
The third presentation to the Vermont Justice Reinvestment II Working Group focuses on crime and sentencing trends to help Vermont better understand the front-end system dynamics of who is coming into the criminal justice system and where their case dispositions lead them.
Douglas County, Kansas: A County Justice and Behavioral Health Systems Improvement Project
This report presents opportunities to expand what Douglas County is already doing well and improve upon systems performance.
Creating Systemwide Change to Promote Recidivism-Reduction & Employment Readiness
This fact sheet, developed by The Council of State Governments Justice Center and the National Reentry Resource Center, provides an overview of the Integrated Reentry and Employment Strategies project and discusses a recently released report on the three-year pilot project that tested the framework in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, and Palm Beach County, Florida.
JUSTICE CENTER IN THE NEWS
[Opinion] Prison Crowding: Saving Tax Dollars and Creating a Path to Redemption
Currently, Alabama’s recidivism rate is at 31%, which compares favorably to the national average of 34%. But Alabama can do better — and the central figure to keep in mind is that only 7% of inmates with a marketable job skill commit a second crime.
Coalition of Criminal Justice Groups Oppose HUD’s Proposed Change to Disparate Impact Rule
A coalition of criminal justice groups issued a statement today voicing opposition to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) recent proposal to amend its so-called “disparate impact” rule under the Fair Housing Act. The disparate impact rule permitted people to bring legal claims against housing policies and practices that, while not motivated by discriminatory intent, predictably harmed protected groups, including people of color.
Barron: “Quick Dips” and Other Corrections Programs
About 18 month ago, the state launched its participation in the federal Justice Reinvestment Initiative. This was an ambitious two-year effort with the goal of controlling state spending on corrections and reinvesting the money saved into alternative programs.
States Miss Chances to Help Youth in Justice System Find Work
State juvenile correctional agencies do a poor job of preparing youth in the juvenile justice system for employment, The Council of State Governments Justice Center says in a new report.
Ask the Experts: Evaluating Jumaane Williams’ Proposal to Reform Mental Health Crisis Response
Council of State Governments Behavioral Health Director Ayesha Delany-Brumsey says, “The question that needs to be answered is, if there is a call to 911 for someone in crisis, how do we respond most effectively? As of now, the only options are to send the police or EMS.”
Opinion: Epstein Suicide Highlights Staffing Crisis in U.S. Prisons and Jails
Critics sometimes refer to American prisons as “warehouses,” but that suggests that people go out the same way they came in. Recent events remind us that understaffed prisons can cause harm, not only for people who are incarcerated, but also those who work there.