Lessons from the States: Reducing Recidivism and Curbing Corrections Costs Through Justice Reinvestment
Over the past 20 years, state spending on corrections has skyrocketed—from $12 billion in 1988 to more than $52 billion in 2011.1 Declining state revenues and other fiscal factors are putting a serious strain on many states’ criminal justice systems, often putting concerns about the bottom line in competition with public safety. Strategies tested in numerous states and local jurisdictions, however, show that there are effective ways to address the challenge of containing rising corrections costs while also increasing public safety.
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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