On September 25, the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center’s National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC) presented a policy brief detailing how several states successfully reduced recidivism. CSG claims that bipartisan co-operation in Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and Vermont allowed important legislation to be passed, thereby bringing about “significant reductions in recidivism.”
Highlights from the CSG brief offer the following examples of actions taken to
help keep reentering citizens from recidivating:
In Ohio, state policymakers standardized the use of a validated risk assessment instrument to focus limited treatment and supervision resources on those individuals assessed at the highest risk for reoffending.
In Kansas, state leaders awarded performance-based grants to community corrections agencies, partnered with local communities where recidivism rates were highest to improve post-release supervision, and enhanced housing and workforce development services to better meet the needs of people coming out of prison.
Michigan officials invested heavily in the state’s Prisoner Reentry Program, prioritizing funding for housing, employment, and other transition support services in order to provide the most effective community-based programming for released individuals.
According to CSG, Texas and Ohio reduced recidivism by 11 percent. Kansas saw recidivism fall by 15 percent, and Michigan saw a dramatic 18 percent reduction of recidivism.
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