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.
Pennsylvania's Justice Reinvestment legislation, signed into law in December 2019, is expected to save the state millions and…
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The Wyoming state legislature recently passed a bill that will strengthen behavioral health treatment and programming for people…
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Bipartisan support for three key criminal justice programs shows Congressional commitment to increasing public safety and reducing recidivism.
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Explainer: The Significance of Pennsylvania's Justice Reinvestment Bills
Pennsylvania's Justice Reinvestment legislation, signed into law in December 2019, is expected to save the state millions and improve countless lives. Here, we outline four key questions about the importance of significance of this moment.
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Four Ways New Criminal Justice Bill Impacts Wyoming
The Wyoming state legislature recently passed a bill that will strengthen behavioral health treatment and programming for people in the criminal justice system with evidence-based practices and robust quality assurance measures.
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Congress Expresses Bipartisan Support for Key Justice Programs
Bipartisan support for three key criminal justice programs shows Congressional commitment to increasing public safety and reducing recidivism.
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Explainer: The Significance of Vermont’s Justice Reinvestment Legislation
Vermont Governor Phil Scott recently signed a bipartisan criminal justice bill designed to reduce recidivism and dissect racial disparities in the state’s prisons.
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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 Launches Bipartisan Effort to Address Criminal Justice and Fiscal Challenges
Reentry and behavioral health programming are among the issues the state is examining.
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