A national initiative supported by the CSG Justice Center
More than 1.2 million people are incarcerated in the United States, with 96% of those individuals sentenced to more than a year. Reentry 2030 is a group-led national initiative supported by The Council of State Governments Justice Center that takes a human-centered, coordinated, transparent and equitable approach to improving success for those exiting prison.
“Each individual exiting jail or prison deserves to reintegrate into their communities successfully,” said Dr. Nicole Jarrett, director of corrections and reentry at The Council of State Governments Justice Center. “With Reentry 2030, we aim to build on the successes from the Second Chance Act and similar initiatives to work for a future of reentry that feels more human-centered, coordinated, transparent and equitable.”
The initiative is driven by four key commitments to ensure reentry is:
HUMAN-CENTERED
Promotes human-centered goals, meaning leaders use perspectives and lived-experiences of those who have participated in the reentry process to better address the needs of future participants.
COORDINATED
Coordinates efforts, both within state leaders and policy experts and across the nation to create a comprehensive approach to reintegration.
TRANSPARENT
Agreements by states to report on the goals publicly and be transparent with their progress.
EQUITABLE
Focuses on an equitable solution to reentry by using data informed decisions to drive policy.
State leaders can look to Reentry 2030 for resources, tools and supports that help scale-up access to resources, remove unnecessary barriers and advance racial equity.
Along with providing resources, states who join the initiative commit to gathering stakeholders, setting public goals and milestones, and publishing the progress made.
The goal is to have all 50 states commit to the goals of Reentry 2030. Four states have already joined the national initiative, including North Carolina, which will establish a Joint Reentry 2030 Council. The council will develop a multi-agency strategic plan intended to produce strategies to achieve state goals.
Alabama, Missouri and Nebraska also joined the initiative, with goals focusing on education and employment. Alabama has more than 41,000 supervised individuals who could be served by the goals set by state officials. These include increasing opportunities for trade certificates, decreasing overdose deaths and reuniting families.
“With determination and collaboration, together we will harness the power of empathy and innovation to break down barriers, open doors to opportunity, and guide those who were previously incarcerated or serving probation toward a path of success,” said Cam Ward, director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Parole and CSG Justice Center Executive Committee Chair.
Among their goals, Missouri pledges to have employed 85% of incarcerated Missourians within 30 days of their release. Leaders are working with community members to help meet this goal, along with increasing training and education for incarcerated individuals to better prepare them upon release.
Nebraska set a goal of increasing GED completion for incarcerated individuals by 30%, which will boost employment of GED proctors by a projected 15%. State leaders have also set a goal of helping every incarcerated individual receive state identification and a birth certificate before they are released.
State leaders interested in joining Reentry 2030 can sign up for more information at reentry2030.org/take-action.