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As pandemic spreads, nonprofit is on a mission to clear out Twin Cities jails, one bail bond at a time

Andy Mannix

March 27, 2020 |

Minneapolis Star Tribune |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Minnesota Freedom Fund has ramped up its spending to pay bail for people with low-level charges. The COVID-19 threat has added urgency to this increasingly popular response to the cash bail system. With jails and prisons posing a great threat to inmates during a pandemic, there have been increased calls to release non-violent inmates to slow the spread and protect those experiencing incarceration.

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Inmates Released, Deputies Get COVID-19 Gear

Sheena Elzie

March 20, 2020 |

Spectrum News 1 Ohio |

Broadcast TV News |

Under 3 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Hamilton, Ohio

In Butler County, Ohio, law enforcement and jails are adapting quickly as the COVID19 pandemic continues on. They’re working with courts and judges to allow low-level and non-violent offenders to be released and have stopped allowing visitations. Officers also get full protective gear for responding to possible coronavirus cases, although many reports have been taken over the phone lately, instead of in person.

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Nowhere to Go: Out of jail, recovery housing hard to find

Hadley Barndollar

March 15, 2020 |

Seacoast Online |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Portsmouth, New Hampshire

New Hampshire's Rockinham County gives some people with extensive drug and criminal histories an offramp from the criminal legal system, in the form of housing at Cross Roads House and a drug court to emphasize treatment over punishment. But, while other cities in the state meet such needs with multiple programs, the second-most populous county in the state has a severe shortage of supportive housing and services. Such services can make the difference between prison and success, and even between life and death in a place with high rates of overdose deaths.

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Private Prisons Profit Off Incarceration. One In Australia Shows How To Flip The Script

Rae Ellen Bichell

March 09, 2020 |

KUNC |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Australia

Using a performance-based contract to give a private prison company the incentive to lower recidivism has encouraged the private operator of Australia’s largest prison to foster a more positive environment and provide a rich array of rehabilitative programs. Instead of penalizing the prison operator for problems, the contract rewards it for success, defined as fewer people returning to prison. Early indications are that it’s working well, by providing job training, counseling that continues after incarceration, and help finding housing post-release.

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What Would a World Without Prisons Look Like?

Patricia Leigh Brown

March 06, 2020 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

Deanna Van Buren and her nonprofit firm Designing Justice/Designing Spaces use architecture to advance social justice and criminal-justice-reform ideas, designing workplaces, meeting places, and homes nationwide founded on the notion of "what a world without prisons could look like." The firm's projects, often planned with input from the people directly affected, have included privacy-enhancing temporary living units for people recently released from prison, a "peacemaking" space in Syracuse, N.Y., and two of the first restorative-justice meeting places for crime victims and those who harmed them.

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City watchdog says Chicago's arrest diversion program for youth can't be evaluated due to poor record keeping and lack of collaboration

Annie Sweeney

February 25, 2020 |

Chicago Tribune |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Over the past 14 years, the city of Chicago has been running a Juvenile Intervention and Support Center (JISC) to help divert youth away from the criminal justice system. The goal of the program, which took a $5 million investment, was to connect them with social services, favoring rehabilitation over punitive measures. But because of record destruction, lack of record keeping, and an inability by the police and Department of Family and Support Services to collaborate, a recent audit has proved unable to determine the success of the JISC.

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Dimesse sisters link female prisoners to society in Kenya

Doreen Ajiambo

February 20, 2020 |

Global Sisters Report |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Kenya

Kenya's overcrowded and poorly maintained prisons offer some educational and rehabilitative programs to inmates, but the nuns of the Dimesse congregation provide something else to try to transform the lives of those who committed crimes: religious instruction, with a side helping of basic humanitarian supplies. Along with food, underwear, and sanitary pads, the nuns use regular visits to men's and women's prisons to hand out bibles and give faith-based instruction aimed at reintegrating shunned citizens once they return to their communities.

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PowerCorpsPHL trains Philly youth for careers that have a future

Jessica Blatt Press

February 12, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

A workforce development initiative, PowerCorpsPHL, pays participants to learn skills and gain hands-on experience for jobs that offer long-term career opportunity in the field of environmental sustainability. Participants generally have criminal records or have been in the foster care system. In addition to job training and education, PowerCorpsPHL also provides services such as mental health counseling, securing childcare, navigating SNAP and AmeriCorps tuition benefits and helping with paperwork. The program helps 92 percent of participants secure either a job or post-secondary education.

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Juvenile justice advocates: Let's ‘Raise the Age' again

Kelan Lyons

February 10, 2020 |

The Connecticut Mirror |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Connecticut

Since 2007, Connecticut has taken major steps in juvenile justice reform – namely, the ages that youth are arrested or charged as adults. By moving 16 and 17 year olds out of the adult system and into the juvenile justice system, the state has seen a 40% decrease in new juvenile court cases, leading to less stigma and large taxpayer savings. With such success, the state now looks to make further reforms in the juvenile justice system.

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How a Cincinnati manufacturer is changing lives & slashing turnover

Katie Ellington

January 29, 2020 |

Richland Source |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Cincinnati, Ohio

At Nehemiah Manufacturing, more than 80% of the employees are "second-chance" workers: people with a criminal record, a history of drug abuse, and such. Not only does the company bring more jobs to the city of Cincinnati, but it also connects employees with resources in the community, such as job training, housing assistance, food assistance, or mental-health counseling. Turnover rate is only 15%, and employees themselves describe how the job changed their lives.

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