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How One County Became a Lab for California’s Prison Reform

The Marshall Project Jan 17, 2019
This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
Click here for more.
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Giving Compass’ Take:

• The Marshall Project reports on the success of California’s San Joaquin County in adjusting to the state’s 2011 criminal justice reform plan.

• How might San Joaquin provide a prison reform model for other areas around the country? Which programs proved most effective in reducing recidivism?

• Here’s another perspective on the California prison policy and where it fell short.


When California lawmakers unveiled a plan in 2011 to reduce the number of inmates in state prison, officials in San Joaquin County thought the timing couldn’t have been worse.

There were already signs that a recent dip in crime might be coming to an end in this Central Valley county east of San Francisco. Homicides were up by nearly 40 percent from the previous year. And in the midst of a financial crisis, the county and local cities were laying off police officers and prosecutors.

Now the county would have to quickly absorb an influx of nearly 1,000 released prisoners.

“We were super concerned,” said Stephanie James, the county’s probation chief. “It was such a significant number that were coming out of prison who were at a high risk to commit a violent offense.”

As they braced themselves, county officials set up a system of collaborative courts to help former prisoners find jobs, housing and treatment for mental health and addiction problems. They pioneered a program that uses sophisticated risk assessments rather than cash bail to decide which defendants were safe to release before trial. And local officials launched an array of novel anti-crime programs, including one aimed at building trust between police and residents and another that gives stipends to young people considered at risk of committing gun violence.

What happened next surprised many.

Read the full article about San Joaquin County as a lab for California’s prison reform by Abbie VanSickle and Manuel Villa at The Marshall Project.

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Since you are interested in Criminal Justice, have you read these selections from Giving Compass related to impact giving and Criminal Justice?

  • This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
    Click here for more.
    Interventions Aimed at Helping Individuals Who Cycle Through Systems

    Giving Compass' Take: • The Laura and John Arnold Foundation discuss its efforts to help people tied to repetitive cycles in the criminal justice, healthcare, and social service systems. • What can we do to support evidence-based solutions in this area, as this post details? Are funders and organizations gathering the right data to inform interventions? • Here's how behavioral science can improve criminal justice. The Laura and John Arnold Foundation (LJAF) issued a request for proposals (RFP) for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) focused on testing programs to help people who repeatedly cycle through the criminal justice, healthcare, and social service systems in their communities. In particular, LJAF is interested in proposals to evaluate established approaches such as crisis intervention teams, assertive community treatment, cognitive-behavioral therapy, short-term mental health crisis stabilization programs, and programs incorporating a Housing First approach ... Research shows that of the 11 million people who spend time in local jails each year, 68 percent have a substance use disorder, 64 percent have a mental illness, and 44 percent suffer from chronic health problems. Yet jail systems often lack the training or resources they need to respond to inmates’ substance use and behavioral health conditions. This has negative consequences for the individuals — the majority of whom are charged with low-level, nonviolent offenses — as well as society. Regular stints in jail often exacerbate defendants’ health and life challenges, and these same individuals frequently cycle through hospital emergency rooms and other emergency social service agencies. The uncoordinated care fails to address the underlying health and mental health issues that are driving people into these systems, perpetuating an ongoing cycle of costly and ineffective treatment. In fact, every year, taxpayers spend $22 billion on incarceration costs alone. “There is a great deal of interest in determining how best to use data to improve our nation’s criminal justice and health care systems,” LJAF Vice President of Data-Driven Justice Lynn Overmann explained. “The leaders of more than 140 communities across the country have shown a commitment to data-driven justice. Read the full article about helping people who cycle through systems at Laura and John Arnold Foundation.


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