Idaho’s Justice Reinvestment Approach
Faced with one of the fastest-growing state prison populations in the nation, Idaho leaders pursued justice reinvestment. After extensive analyses identified key challenges in the state’s criminal justice system, policymakers developed a policy framework designed to strengthen probation and parole, structure parole decision making, and measure recidivism-reduction efforts. Justice reinvestment legislation was enacted in March 2014 and the state was projected to save a range from 1,046 to 1,395 prison beds between fiscal years 2015 and 2019, saving between $221 million and $288 million.
In March 2015, the Council of State Governments Justice Center, in partnership with the Idaho Department of Correction and the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole, reviewed an improved set of data that resulted in a revision to these projections. The revised impact models estimate the total prison bed savings between fiscal years 2015 and 2019 to range from 685 to 783 beds, while the policy package as a whole anticipates $134 million to $157 million in savings.
Justice Reinvestment legislation recently passed in Vermont is the latest example of a state turning pessimistic parole into…
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Staff from the CSG Justice Center met with the Kansas Criminal Justice Reform Commission last week to present…
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Vermont will reinvest nearly $700,000 in community-based programs to reduce recidivism with a likely focus on programs for…
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States Taking Action: Flipping the Script on Parole
Justice Reinvestment legislation recently passed in Vermont is the latest example of a state turning pessimistic parole into “presumptive parole.”
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Kansas Criminal Justice Reform Commission Discusses Policy Recommendations
Staff from the CSG Justice Center met with the Kansas Criminal Justice Reform Commission last week to present findings and policy recommendations based on recent assessment activities as part of the state’s Justice Reinvestment effort, which launched in September.
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Vermont to Reinvest Criminal Justice Savings in Domestic Violence Programming
Vermont will reinvest nearly $700,000 in community-based programs to reduce recidivism with a likely focus on programs for people who are supervised for domestic violence offenses.
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Thaddeus Watts Has “Been Through the Storm.” Workforce Training Helped Him Weather It.
Few receive training in Kansas prisons. Thaddeus Watts is one of the lucky ones.
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WATCH: A Career Prosecuting Violent Crimes Gives District Attorney Perspective on Drug-Related Offenses
Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett is leading efforts to safely improve Kansas’s approach to sentencing, supervision, behavioral health, and reentry as part of the state’s participation in the Justice Reinvestment Initiative.
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WATCH: Facing Budget Shortfall, Kansas Rep. Owens Says Criminal Justice Changes Could Be Solution
Through the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, Kansas Rep. Stephen Owens is helping lead work with other criminal justice stakeholders to improve outcomes for people in Kansas’s criminal justice system, disrupt the cycle of recidivism, and find savings to offset recent fiscal losses.
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