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

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  • Grassroots Organizations Are Leading the Way on Criminal Justice Reform

    Local groups in cities like St. Louis and New York are organizing to reform the criminal justice system, pushing for policies that reinstate voting rights for formerly incarcerated people, changing punishments for non-violent crimes, and in some cases, eliminating jails altogether. The local know-how and pressure is creating results, and that, along with the funding and assistance that national organizations can bring, is a model for how advocates for criminal justice reform can change the system.

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  • Parenting From Prison, Inside Out

    Two programs called FamilyWorks and the Storybook Program aim to improve the relationship between those who are incarcerated and their families. FamilyWorks conducts parenting classes and other education for inmates who may not know how to build a relationship with their children while in prison. Storybook offers inmates the chance to record themselves reading books to send along to their children. Inmates say that both programs taught them a lot and that they are better people for it.

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  • An innovative approach to criminal justice reform: Put black women in charge

    South Fulton is the only city in the U.S. to put black women in charge of its criminal justice system—from the judge, to the prosecutor, to the public defender. “The result: A focus on community policing, pretrial diversion programs and assigning public defenders to all cases.” Ultimately, the aim is to divert black people from entering the prison pipeline, and establishing a model that can be replicated in other cities.

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  • Nebraska prisons playing major role in mental health care

    Nebraska prisons house many of the state's mentally ill, and they are working on comprehensive care for them. Prisons work to improve outcomes and reduce recidivism through mentorship programs. The Mental Health Association runs programs in Nebraska prisons and trains peer supporters on the inside.

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  • Caring for California's aging prisoners

    In California, about 18,400 inmates are over the age of 55. In order to properly treat them the state is building a dementia unit. Other states like New York might follow suit, in order to properly care for their aging inmate population.

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  • How Southern organizers are leading the movement to end money bail

    The organization Southerners on New Ground is helping reform the criminal justice system in the south. Activists won a small victory in Atlanta, where the mayor and city council approved a resolution that replaced cash bonds with signature bonds for misdemeanor offenses. They also raised money to help people pay their cash bails as part of a larger event called the National Bail Out collective, which bailed out 147 Black women in 26 cities this year.

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  • Raising babies behind bars

    Nursery programs inside prisons are not common. The Decatur Correctional Center is one of the few in the country. Eleven years since its inception, “more than 90 women have gone through the Moms and Babies program.”

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  • Meet the Judge Who Transformed California's Criminal Justice System

    Using the catalyst approach, Judge Thelton Henderson was able to reform California prisons. He employed courts to change bureaucratic systems, and was moved by the idea that if you “encourage everyone involved to buy into a solution.. long-term change will happen.” Coupled with court orders, Henderson oversaw lawsuits involving overcrowding and inadequate medical services in prisons. A move that led to statewide change.

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  • How Nearly 2,000 Cameras Tamed a Notorious American Prison

    1,875 cameras and 915 microphones is what it took to change a culture of abuse in Attica State Prison, notoriously known as one of the worst places to serve time in amongst prisoners. Since the installation of the cameras, incident reports against corrections officers dropped 80 percent.

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  • Sacramento's Quest to End Solitary Confinement for Kids

    Solitary Confinement on youth can be extremely emotionally damaging. The practice is also costly, and can lead to expensive lawsuits. Yet, a slew of states and youth detention centers are trying to reduce the time young people spend in solitary confinement. In the Sacramento Juvenile Detention, one program is doing that.

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