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Restorative Justice Part 3: In Vermont, Restorative Justice Under Statute May Not Lead to Equitable Services

Jordyn Haime

April 20, 2021 |

Granite State News Collaborative |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Vermont

Reacting to troubling trends in incarceration in the 1980s, Vermont legislators created a system of community justice centers to give its justice system a distinct rehabilitative rather than punitive slant. The CJCs exist in every county and involve the community in repairing the harm from crimes, following a restorative justice approach. Though gaps in data on race mask Vermont's racial disparities in criminal justice, the system saves money and spares many people incarceration, while giving crime victims and communities a more direct say in how to hold people accountable for the harm they cause.

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A NYC Reentry Program Offers Formerly Incarcerated People Healing, Dignity Through Meals

Lela Nargi

April 19, 2021 |

Civil Eats |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Reentry programs for people recently released from prison rarely focus on nutrition, must less provide cooking demonstrations. But the Fortune Society hosts 200 formerly incarcerated people at a weekly demo as part of a program that provides farm-sourced, fresh, quality food in a daily hot meal plus nutrition lessons for the people it serves. The program recognizes that the terrible food people get served inside prison forms an unhealthy habit that can continue afterward. The lessons open people to new food experiences that are both healthy and a form of community-building.

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Meet the scientists building a prison-to-STEM pipeline

Christina Couch

April 19, 2021 |

PBS NOVA |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The movement to promote science education and careers among people who are currently or formerly incarcerated is making slow but real progress. Programs like the National Science Foundation's STEM Opportunities in Prison Settings, and the restoration of Pell Grants in prisons, provide institutional support. But progress can be seen in smaller programs like the Prison Mathematics Project, begun by an incarcerated math whiz whose Italian mathematician mentor inspired him to overcome barriers to education. Another sign of progress: More states are "banning the box" in college applications.

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Restorative Justice in Indian Country

Michelle Chen

April 16, 2021 |

Dissent Magazine |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Penobscot Indian Island Reservation, Maine

Like standard drug courts, the Penobscot Nation's Healing to Wellness Court refers people facing drug-related criminal charges to substance abuse counseling as an alternative to punishment. But this court and other tribal wellness courts are steeped in indigenous customs, blended with restorative justice approaches, to emphasize rehabilitation based on trust, support, and native traditions. The threat of punishment looms over participants should they fail in their counseling program. But no one has been jailed in the past two years in the Penobscot program.

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Charlotte is taking a new approach to drug cases. It could change lives.

Devna Bose

April 13, 2021 |

The Charlotte Observer |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Charlotte, North Carolina

The Mecklenburg County district attorney stopped prosecuting non-violent, low-level drug cases to free up resources to handle a backlog of more serious cases that built up during the pandemic. The policy had the effect of freeing people from the permanent stain of a criminal conviction and offering them drug treatment as an alternative to punishment.

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Inside stories

Taylor Moore

April 05, 2021 |

Columbia Journalism Review |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Quentin, California

The Empowerment Avenue Writer's Cohort pairs incarcerated writers with volunteer journalists on the outside who mentor, edit, and help the writers pitch their stories to publications. By publishing more incarcerated writers' viewpoints and first-hand reporting, and by getting those writers paid for their work, the project better informs the public about experiences inside prisons, gives free-world journalists more inside sources, and helps set up incarcerated writers for a career once they are free.

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Newark-based violence prevention group seeks to bridge gap between police, social services

Rebecca Panico

March 28, 2021 |

NJ Advance Media |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Newark, New Jersey

Newark's Community Street Team hires and trains formerly incarcerated people and people who have been victims of violence to mediate disputes before they turn violent. Street outreach interventions have been associated with large declines in homicides and assaults, although the programs can overlap with others seeking the same goal. Newark's team will now serve as the hub for a national effort, the Community Based Public Safety Association, to professionalize such work nationwide. The group will seek more public funding and try to raise the visibility of such policing alternatives.

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Libraries Are Key Tools For People Getting Out Of Prison, Even During A Pandemic

Sally Herships

March 28, 2021 |

NPR |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, New Jersey

When people leave prison, they often gravitate to public libraries as a free place to get computer access and help in looking for work and navigating other aspects of life outside. New Jersey Public Libraries' Fresh Start program adds a layer of help by providing social workers and extra technology resources and training for the formerly incarcerated. Covid disruptions in libraries forced the program to conduct much of its work on the phone or in public, outdoor spaces, but that has posed other problems. Even so, the help some receive has put them on a path toward self-sufficiency.

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Prison Renaissance program at San Quentin uses art to end cycles of incarceration

Jason Beal

March 26, 2021 |

KGO-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, San Quentin, California

Three men currently or formerly incarcerated at San Quentin Prison founded Prison Renaissance to connect artists and writers inside prison to audiences and potential funders outside. They produced an art exhibit that was shown digitally at the Museum of the African Diaspora. By creating a rehabilitative program on their own without prison administration involvement, the men demonstrate their humanity and talents, while also generating income for the artists.

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How a Colorado town is untangling behavioral health care from the criminal justice system

Sady Swanson

March 22, 2021 |

Coloradoan |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Fort Collins, Colorado

Acting on a recognition that police and the criminal justice system are too involved in responses to mental health and substance abuse crises, UCHealth formed mental health response teams that partner with Fort Collins police on such calls. In about 80% of calls the teams handled, no arrests were made while people received treatment or were referred to needed services. This program plus one that diverts certain criminal cases into treatment, which can result in dismissal of charges, have built-in drawbacks but have begun de-emphasizing criminal-justice remedies when people need other help.

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