Justice Reinvestment - CSG Justice Center

Justice Reinvestment is a data-driven approach to improve public safety, reduce corrections and related criminal justice spending, and reinvest savings in strategies that can decrease crime and reduce recidivism.

Justice Reinvestment

State policymakers are grappling with a unique combination of public safety challenges, including 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 30 states have partnered with the CSG Justice Center to use the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI).

JRI is funded by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance with support from The Pew Charitable Trusts and utilizes criminal justice, behavioral health, and other reentry experts from the CSG Justice Center to:

Collect data that is often siloed and under-analyzed to spotlight the most pressing trends and drivers of crime, recidivism, and costs;
Meet with a range of stakeholders and assess statutes, policies, and current practices;
Deliver findings and recommendations to state leaders and stakeholders in clear, compelling, and actionable presentations;
Help address implementation challenges once changes are adopted; and
Establish an ongoing data monitoring process.

States receiving technical assistance from the CSG Justice Center

State,Abbreviation,Status,code,x,y
Alabama,AL,Previous,us-al,6,7
Alaska,AK,None,us-ak,0,0
Arizona,AZ,Previous,us-az,5,3
Arkansas,AR,Previous,us-ar,5,6
California,CA,None,us-ca,5,2
Colorado,CO,None,us-co,4,3
Connecticut,CT,Previous,us-ct,3,11
Delaware,DE,None,us-de,4,9
District of Columbia,DC,None,us-dc,4,10
Florida,FL,None,us-fl,8,8
Georgia,GA,Previous,us-ga,7,8
Hawaii,HI,Previous,us-hi,8,0
Idaho,ID,Previous,us-id,3,2
Illinois,IL,None,us-il,3,6
Indiana,IN,Previous,us-in,3,7
Iowa,IA,None,us-ia,3,5
Kansas,KS,Current,us-ks,5,5
Kentucky,KY,None,us-ky,4,6
Louisiana,LA,None,us-la,6,5
Maine,ME,Previous,us-me,0,11
Maryland,MD,None,us-md,4,8
Massachusetts,MA,Previous,us-ma,2,10
Michigan,MI,Previous,us-mi,2,7
Minnesota,MN,None,us-mn,2,4
Mississippi,MS,None,us-ms,6,6
Missouri,MO,Current,us-mo,4,5
Montana,MT,Previous,us-mt,2,2
Nebraska,NE,Previous,us-ne,4,4
Nevada,NV,Previous,us-nv,4,2
New Hampshire,NH,Previous,us-nh,1,11
New Jersey,NJ,None,us-nj,3,10
New Mexico,NM,Previous,us-nm,6,3
New York,NY,None,us-ny,2,9
North Carolina,NC,Previous,us-nc,5,9
North Dakota,ND,Previous,us-nd,2,3
Ohio,OH,Previous,us-oh,3,8
Oklahoma,OK,Previous,us-ok,6,4
Oregon,OR,Current,us-or,4,1
Pennsylvania,PA,Previous,us-pa,3,9
Rhode Island,RI,Previous,us-ri,2,11
South Carolina,SC,None,us-sc,6,8
South Dakota,SD,None,us-sd,3,4
Tennessee,TN,None,us-tn,5,7
Texas,TX,Previous,us-tx,7,4
Utah,UT,None,us-ut,5,4
Vermont,VT,Current,us-vt,1,10
Virginia,VA,None,us-va,5,8
Washington,WA,Previous,us-wa,2,1
West Virginia,WV,Previous,us-wv,4,7
Wisconsin,WI,Previous,us-wi,2,5
Wyoming,WY,Current,us-wy,3,3

Justice Reinvestment News

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President Biden’s Proposed Budget Advances Key Safety and Justice Priorities

June 2, 2021

On May 28, 2021, President Biden released his full Fiscal Year 2022…

Explainer: The Significance of Kansas’s Justice Reinvestment Legislation

May 20, 2021

The Kansas legislature recently enacted a package of bipartisan criminal justice bills…

Missouri Governor Parson Visits Community Treatment Program

May 4, 2021

Missouri Governor Mike Parson visited the Improving Community Treatment Success program which…

Investments to Reduce Recidivism Help Young Adults in Massachusetts

April 27, 2021

UTEC, a Lowell-based organization that focuses on reentry, has received nearly $2…

Justice Reinvestment in Action: Oregon Invests $10 Million Locally to Improve Criminal Justice, Behavioral Health Outcomes

March 1, 2021

After authorizing $10.6 million to help people with behavioral health issues get…

Justice Reinvestment Bills in Kansas Aim to Reduce Recidivism

February 23, 2021

A package of criminal justice bills aiming to keep people with substance…

Federal Spending and Pandemic Relief Package Signed into Law

January 8, 2021

Congress recently approved a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending package for 2021 and…

Advancing Justice in a Year of Crisis: Our 2020 Annual Report

December 23, 2020

State and local justice systems faced unprecedented challenges in 2020. We look…

Elizabeth Lyon

Director, State Initiatives

Elizabeth K. Lyon directs the State Initiatives Division, which partners with local, state, and federal leaders to address site-specific challenges in the criminal justice system. The State Initiatives portfolio includes the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, improving outcomes for victims of crime,

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increasing data collection and reporting, leveraging technology and research to reduce revocations, and other initiatives that help states create sustainable criminal justice improvements. Elizabeth joined the CSG Justice Center in 2012 and previously served as program director for implementation of Justice Reinvestment and as deputy division director. Previously, Elizabeth was the director of governmental relations for the State Bar of Michigan, where she directed the public policy program. She holds a BA from the James Madison College at Michigan State University.

Grace Beil Call

Deputy Division Director, State Initiatives

Grace Beil Call works to improve the administration of state victim programs—including assistance, compensation, and restitution—by working with federal, state, and local leaders. Prior to joining the CSG Justice Center, she was a visiting fellow for the Office for Victims

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of Crime at the U.S. Department of Justice as well as directed the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) program for the Office of Crime Victims Advocacy in Washington state. Grace also previously led the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault. She started her work with victims as a volunteer at the Rape Recovery Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. She received her BS in gender studies from the University of Utah.

Ellen Whelan-Wuest

Program Director, State Initiatives

Ellen Whelan-Wuest provides policy research, analysis, and technical assistance to states going through the justice reinvestment process. Previously, she worked for the county manager in Durham, North Carolina, where she served on the Criminal Justice Advisory Committee and researched issues

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relating to medical care costs for the county jail system and the youth home detention facility. Ellen also worked as the Brooklyn director for a New York State Senator, and as a special assistant to the state director for a U.S. Senator in Chicago. Ellen holds a BA in Latin American history and sociology from Middlebury College, and an MA in public policy from Duke University.

Carl Reynolds

Senior Legal and Policy Advisor, Research

Carl Reynolds helps manage and develop projects related to court initiatives, corrections, sentencing reform, and juvenile justice issues. Previously, Carl served as director of the Texas Office of Court Administration. From 1997 to 2005, he was general counsel for the

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Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), responsible for prisons, probation, and parole. He also was general counsel to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice—the governing body for TDCJ. Prior to that position, he was the executive director of the Texas Punishment Standards Commission, general counsel to the Texas Senate Committee on Criminal Justice, director of the Senate's redistricting staff, and a briefing attorney for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Among other projects, he works on the establishment and evaluation of public defender offices and on justice reinvestment strategies. Carl holds a JD from the University of Texas School of Law, an MA from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, and a BA from the University of Cincinnati.

Key Staff