Justice Reinvestment Initiative
How States Use Data to Design Innovative Strategies to Reduce Crime, Recidivism, and Costs
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 Council of State Governments Justice Center to use the Justice Reinvestment Initiative.
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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