Unlike most jails in Kansas, Douglas County has found a way to lock up fewer mentally ill inmates

As a part of the National Bail Out effort in the United States, the Free Black Mamas DMV campaign bails incarcerated women out of jails in the Washington D.C. area in time for Mother’s Day.

Prison officials in North Dakota have revamped solitary confinement, inspired in part by Norway's system, which focuses on “punishment that works.” There is much less focus on using isolation to punish small infractions and more emphasis on mental health and helping inmates learn new skills to change behavior. The shift has reduced tensions between guards and prisoners, fostering better relationships and less disruptive behavior and suicide attempts by inmates.

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.

Across the United States, the use of administrative segregation is being rethought and reduced, as study after study shows it’s link to higher rates of violence and recidivism. At Maine State Prison, over the course of six years, the number of people in solitary went from 100 to 8, while also seeing a decline in fights, use of weapons, and emergency room transportation in the prison’s general population. The prison has instead started implementing individualized mental health programming and structured living units – opting to implement rehabilitation over punitive measures.

California is taking a new approach to reducing recidivism, known as The California Model, by providing people who are incarcerated with rehabilitative and educational programming.

The Prisoner Correspondence Project connects LGBTQ2S+ people who are incarcerated in the United States and Canada with pen pals who are not incarcerated. The consistent communication helps combat isolation and improve mental health and rehabilitation outcomes.

Coaches from Northern Illinois University's Project FLEX program facilitate sports matches at youth prisons a few times a week to improve recidivism rates. During huddles, the coaches combine sports with psychology-based lessons to emphasize positive skills and strengths.

The eight-week program at the Forsyth County detention center’s Behavioral Health Unit has served 117 men experiencing mental illness — something that is typically underserved in jails. The behavioral health unit provides counseling and mental health services to individuals in the jail who need it and also includes courses on coping, dealing with stress, practicing mindfulness, and preparing for various life transitions.

The Bail Project allows defendants to go free while awaiting trial. Bail reform takes the burden off of the poor and prevents people from losing their jobs while sitting in jail awaiting trial because they can’t afford to pay their bail, specifically for those with misdemeanor charges. In the first six months following the bail reform, there were 1,500 more people released. Following them for three years, there was a 6% decrease in prosecutions and guilty pleas and time served also dropped.

The Sanganer open prison serves as an important alternative to traditional incarceration in India by remaining open for 12 hours a day and allowing inmates to go out. It is one of 88 open prisons in India that works on a model of reform and helps inmates to keep their connection with work, family, and society. In doing so, it enables the development of trust as well as skills that can help them not just during incarceration but also after release.