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

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  • How Norway turns criminals into good neighbours

    Norway’s Halden Prison is taking a different approach to incarceration: emphasizing rehabilitation over punishment, which has led to a 20% decrease in recidivism in just two years. Over the past two decades, the country has sought rigorous criminal justice reform, which at Halden Prison means job training and certifications, yoga and other recreational activities, reenvisioning the role guards play, and spaces that look more like home than a jail cell.

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  • How San Mateo County Is Building a 'Prison-to-School' Pipeline

    In San Mateo's juvenile detention centers, Project Change encourages youth who have completed high school coursework to enroll in community college classes taught on the campus. Inspired by the promise of programs like these, California lawmakers are considering Senate Bill 716, which would require county probation departments to offer at least online higher ed programs. "Nobody's telling these kids to go to college — that's not on the menu. But when you make that something that's embedded in what they are receiving, that's huge," the founder of Project Change says.

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  • California: Epicenter of Mass Incarceration Reform

    Following a Supreme Court mandate requiring California to address prison overcrowding, the state has taken numerous initiatives to reduce sentences, relocate inmates, set higher accountability measures for law enforcement, and allocate more funding for re-entry programs. While these measures have been implemented across the state, the city of Stockton has been a leader after electing the nation’s youngest – and Stockton’s first African American – mayor, Michael Tubbs. Since then, the city has adopted reforms such as universal basic income and mentorship programs and has witnessed a 40% drop in homicides.

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  • Mississippi Leads the Nation in Criminal Justice Reform

    The state of Mississippi has taken drastic steps in reforming their criminal justice system, pointing to a nationwide cultural shift as a driving force. State legislation, such as expanding parole eligibility, eliminating mandatory minimum sentences, and barring licensing boards from discriminating against individuals who used to be incarcerated are just a handful of policies the state has championed. The reform has led to a prison population decrease of 11% and state savings of $46 million

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  • I Served My Prison Time. Why Do I Still Have to Pay?

    In 2018, San Francisco county forgave $32 million worth of criminal justice administrative fees. These fees are issued to formerly incarcerated individuals upon release from prison, most of which are not employed and without stable housing. The coalition pursuing this policy change cited economic justice for those that have already paid their societal debt and an overall state savings in collection costs as the primary reasons to end this practice.

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  • Restoring Prisoners' Access to Education Reduces Recidivism

    A piece of bipartisan legislation was introduced to the United States’ Senate in February 2018 that would give individuals in incarceration access to Pell Grants, thus increasing their college education opportunities. While the bill was not enacted, it is part of an ongoing process of reinstating access to Pell Grants for prisoners from the Obama administration, who gave limited access in its Second Chance program. This bill speaks to the largely bipartisan cultural shift that embraces the need to invest in correctional education in order to prevent recidivism.

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  • DAs Have This Blueprint for Rethinking Criminal Justice

    Formerly incarcerated individuals, community leaders, and members of San Francisco’s District Attorney’s office, have joined forces to create a collaborative advisory board. The board meets to share re-entry challenges and successes, discuss the DA's work, and develop a deeper understanding of systemic crime in the city. From conversations about mental health to poverty, members are helping create new policies and opportunities for those still incarcerated.

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  • In Chicago, one mosque charts its own path

    Masjid al-Rabia, a small mosque on the third floor of in a co-working space in downtown Chicago, is making waves as an untraditional prayer space. Not only is it woman-centered (not led), but their services are made accessible to all genders, sexualities, abilities, classes, etc. The mosque also has a focus on prison outreach, sending care packages with prayer rugs, prayer caps, Qurans, newsletters, and other spiritual literature to over 500 Muslim detainees in jails, prisons, detention centers, and institutions across the country.

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  • As Alabama grapples with solitary confinement, other states offer blueprints for change

    The use of solitary confinement, or administrative segregation, in prisons is facing pushback across the country. In Alabama, a federal judge tasked the Department of Corrections to investigate how other states are reforming their use of solitary confinement – especially for those with mental health concerns. Recognizing that isolation often leads to increased bad behavior, states such as North Dakota and Colorado have placed stronger limitations on the use and deployment of administrative segregation.

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  • Ypsi-based program aims to restore dignity for women giving birth while incarcerated

    The Michigan Prison Doula Initiative seeks to provide pregnant women experiencing incarceration the support and care they need to maintain physical and mental health before, during, and after giving birth. The initiative has partnered with the Michigan Department of Corrections to start work in one prison – with the hopes of expanding to others – by providing prenatal counseling, support during birth, and postpartum visits.

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