Recidivism Reduction Checklists

The recidivism reduction checklists build upon the December 8, 2011 State Leaders’ Forum on Reentry and Recidivism. During this forum, state leaders began developing recidivism reduction goals, designing plans to achieve those goals, and identifying ways to track progress.

In a follow-up survey with forum participants, it became clear that state leaders would benefit from additional guidance on best practices and tools for enhancing communication with policymakers, state corrections directors, and reentry staff. The recidivism reduction checklists are designed to meet those needs.

• Outreach and education: These checklists succinctly outline the key facets of effective reentry policy and can be used by corrections and community supervision leaders to easily brief legislative or executive policymakers and their staff on best practices.

• Assessment: Policymakers and corrections or community supervision staff can use the checklists to assess the comprehensiveness of their recidivism reduction efforts. The reentry coordinators’ checklist is specifically designed for recording information about implementation.

• Strategic planning: Whether at the policy or administrative level, strategic planning can be greatly informed by the checklists. Each checklist provides a framework for developing a thorough, long-term plan for reducing recidivism.

• Oversight: For corrections and community supervision administrators or reentry coordinators overseeing reentry initiatives, the checklists can be used as a tool for periodically auditing reentry efforts across the department.

• Quarterly, the reentry coordinator updates the Checklist for State Reentry Coordinators by facility/department unit and briefs the corrections/community supervision director on the status of implementation.

• Semi-annually, the corrections/community supervision director and reentry coordinator use the Checklist for State Corrections and Community Supervision Administrators to assess key areas that need to be enhanced through department-wide policy changes.

• Annually or as needed, the corrections/community supervision director and reentry coordinator use the Checklist for Legislative and Executive Policymakers to brief the governor’s staff and members of the legislature on progress with implementation and any policy or budgetary needs.

• Many of the recidivism reduction strategies in the checklists are based on the Risk, Need, and Responsivity principles for changing behavior of people who are in the justice system. Read more about these principles.
• The following resources provide additional information related to the checklists’ content:
  • Report of the Re-Entry Policy Council
  • The National Summit on Justice Reinvestment and Public Safety
  • A Ten-Step Guide to Transforming Probation Departments to Reduce Recidivism
  • Increasing Public Safety Through Successful Offender Reentry
  • Putting Public Safety First: 13 Parole Supervision Strategies to Enhance Reentry Outcomes