Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • What is the public health approach to violence — and does it work?

    Public health approaches to violence, in which different sectors and agencies treat it as a contagious disease, has gained support across the world and has taken many forms. This approach relies on data collection to inform policy and devise services, as well as routine checks on the effectiveness of interventions and scaling the ones that work. While the public health approach to violence has saved costs and reduced police-recorded violence, there are ethical concerns about the widespread data gathering.

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  • Can a Bible college in this NC prison make a difference?

    The Field Minister Program by the College at Southeastern Baptist Seminary offers inmates inside Nash Correctional the opportunity to study ministry and ultimately be used as a tool to reduce recidivism. Inmates with long terms lead the cultural change within the prisons by helping departing inmates find jobs, mentors and communities, running their own religious services, and becoming juvenile mentors, GED tutors, hospice care workers, chaplain support, and more. Studies done on similar programs show that Bible college reduces participant misconduct by 65-80%, and many inmates share stories of success.

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  • Miami Thrift Store Gives Women Coming Out Of Prison Jobs

    Ladies Empowerment Action Program (LEAP), a Miami nonprofit organization, is helping women transition out of prison and into employment. Women are connected to a transitional job at Dragonfly Thrift Boutique, a store built with the explicit purpose of employing women coming out of prison. During their release period, the female participants go through an entrepreneurship training program to urge them to one day start their own companies and further the cycle of employment.

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  • County Jails Struggle To Treat Mentally Ill Inmates

    Jails in Illinois are trying to step up screening of inmates for mental illness as part of increased efforts around the country to deal with the large numbers of people with mental health issues who are behind bars. More than 400 counties in the U.S. have joined the Stepping Up Initiative to reduce the number of people incarcerated with mental illness and connect them with services. But officials say success is contingent on reliable funding and getting rid of stigmas against mental illness.

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  • Professional Hand-Holders

    Washington’s Snohomish County has implemented a program that embeds social workers with the police. The program has been an effective method to bring services to people in need rather than arrest and process them as criminals.

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  • The Jail

    Inmates in Snohomish County jails who have substance use disorder are now being given suboxone to help them manage withdrawal symptoms. Upon release, people are also being provided with supports to connected them with services and ensure that they do not overdose due to the change in their tolerance after a partial withdrawal.

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  • From prison to college: Consortium puts inmates in a positive ‘pipeline'

    Inmates who enroll in higher education programs during their sentence are 43 percent less likely to return to prison than their peers who don't, according to a study by the RAND Corporation. A consortium of Massachusetts colleges and state law enforcement agencies are taking action in light of this finding - 13 colleges will offer bachelor's degree programs to offenders either when they are in prison or once they have left.

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  • Meet the Delaware Teen Fighting for the Rights of Former Juvenile Offenders

    After her neighbor was incarcerated, a Delaware teenager and her brother began supporting youth coming out of detention with clothes, school supplies and other items. Their nonprofit grew and was so successful in raising money and awareness that the state legislature took over the re-entry fund just a year and a half after the organization's launch. The founder is now working on a pilot program to provide financial literacy training for formerly incarcerated youth.

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  • Reform Activists and a New DA Find Common Ground

    In Texas' Harris County, the state's most populous county, a grassroots collective of criminal justice activists contributed to a political shift that led to reforms in prosecutions, jails, bail, and policing. Inspired by the movement sparked by the death of Michael Brown in Missouri in 2014, groups such as Houston Justice and the Texas Organizing Project backed the election of a reform-minded district attorney, who turned toward community collaboration and away from tough-on-crime solutions. The new DA, plus favorable court rulings and state laws, softened the country's rough-justice reputation.

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  • Stripped: The Search for Human Rights in US Women's Prisons

    After her client and friend gets sentenced to 13 years in prison at the Washington Corrections Center for Women, Laurie Dawson, an activist, sets out to reform prison practices. With the guidance of the Bangkok Rules, an international document that outlines 70 principles meant to reform women’s prisons, Dawson sets her sight on eliminating strip searches from WCCM, and succeeds.

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