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Oakland's success shows how Philly-wide restorative justice could work

Jessica Blatt Press

December 16, 2021 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

Modeled on a long-running and successful program in Oakland, Philadelphia schools' Relationships First program uses restorative justice to reform school discipline. The program follows a three-step approach to changing culture. At its core, teachers and students deepen their relationships so that when they use group dialogue to address the harm that people have caused, the chances for healing are greater. Violence has dropped when it was used in one Philadelphia neighborhood in cases of serious offenses. In Oakland, expulsions, suspensions, and racial disparities are all way down.

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'A clear winner': How education in prison can help people after release

Paul Cuno-Booth

December 13, 2021 |

Granite State News Collaborative |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Hampshire

Correctional education opportunities provide a number of benefits: Skills, self-esteem, job opportunities, and lower chances of going back to prison. Educational opportunities for people serving prison time decrease the possibility of recidivism by 30 percent.

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To clean up East Baltimore, this mentor shores up buildings – and youths

Dwight A. Weingarten

December 13, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

A community organization focuses on the wellbeing of young people in order to prevent violence. Members are mentored and taught martial arts by founder, Munir Bahar. Young residents also help clean up their neighborhood, hold food drives, and lead anti-violence marches.

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This NGO's Strategy Helps Ex-convicts Avoid Repeating Crime

Ekpali Saint

December 13, 2021 |

Prime Progress |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Nigeria, Benue

In the nine years since its founding, Dream Again Prison and Youth Initiative has helped more than 2,000 incarcerated Nigerians prepare for success in work and life after they leave prison. Using mental health support, vocational training, and financial aid after graduates leave prison, the program works in six prisons in an effort to combat the country's rising recidivism rate. Much of the focus is on helping would-be entrepreneurs start their own businesses rather than rely on existing businesses that may not want to give the formerly incarcerated a second chance.

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‘Something major': Wake DA partners with nonprofits to clear people's arrest warrants

Aaron Sánchez-Guerra

December 11, 2021 |

The News & Observer |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Raleigh, North Carolina

The Wake County district attorney worked with criminal-justice reform groups to hold a "warrant clinic" where people could apply to void arrest warrants that could land them in jail, with all of the financial and social costs that come with that. About 45 of 160 applicants were approved in the process, which comes with multiple conditions limiting eligibility to people facing relatively minor charges who missed court dates or had similar reasons for getting named in a warrant. The organizers hope to continue the practice, which also saves the county money.

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The Judge Who Keeps People Out of Jail

Ted Alcorn

November 30, 2021 |

The Washington Post Magazine |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Rio Arriba, New Mexico

Since 2018, Judge Jason Lidyard of Rio Arriba County, N.M., has forged a new model for a drug court. Instead of demanding abstinence from drugs as the price to stay out of jail, Lidyard uses respect and personal relationships to seek a redefinition of success: making substance abuse less deadly and less socially crippling. Violating the court's requirements to get treatment results in more help, not jail. The less punitive approach seemed to reduce overdoses until a new fentanyl surge complicated the picture. Almost all of the people who've gone through the court have avoided new felony arrests.

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'You're not alone': New Summit court program helps parents reunite with children

Stephanie Warsmith

November 29, 2021 |

Akron Beacon Journal |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Akron, Ohio

Summit County, Ohio's juvenile court's Multidisciplinary Team Representation assigns a parent advocate and social worker to child-custody cases to help parents reunite with their children much more quickly than the system typically processes cases. The program has just begun in the county, helping a handful of families reunite, but a study in New York City showed the same approach reunited families 43% more often than if just an attorney were helping the family. Parents whose troubles lead to the temporary loss of their children need supports that help them get on firmer ground.

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Prisoners hope that education can erase a stigma

Danielle Dreilinger

November 26, 2021 |

The Hechinger Report |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Cottonwood, Idaho

Idaho's nine prisons have more than 30 postsecondary educational programs geared to helping incarcerated people get hired in career-track, technical jobs after their release from prison. The prisons focus on jobs in demand and woo potential employers with tours of their well-equipped classrooms. They also focus on education that produces certifications that carry more weight in industry. Studies show those credentials produce better odds against people returning to prison. Such programs nationwide have suffered from inadequate funding, but more federal money is in the pipeline.

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Prison offers little to ease domestic violence trauma. This program tries to fill the gaps

Amna Nawaz Lena I. Jackson

November 18, 2021 |

PBS NewsHour |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

A New Way of Life gives formerly incarcerated women something that most did not get from prison: treatment for the trauma that so many incarcerated women suffered from domestic violence. As an antidote to a system geared to punishing wrongdoing without addressing its causes, New Way provides housing and supportive programs, many of which are taught by women with similar experiences. Some of the women tell their stories of lives repaired and families reunited thanks to New Way's interventions.

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Green Jobs Offer Ex-Offenders a Career Path after Prison

Ryan M. Moser

November 18, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Miami, Florida

At Florida's Everglades Correctional Institution, incarcerated men teach a course offered through a college correspondence school that can lead to certification to work as a wastewater treatment plant operator, a well-paying green-industry job in high demand. An incarcerated journalist tells the story of how demanding lessons in chemistry, microbiology, and algebra prepare students for the state certification exam. Hundreds have taken the course and many have found jobs in the industry after prison, although many employers remain reluctant to hire people with felony records.

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