NCJ Number
234963
Date Published
2011
Length
34 pages
Annotation
This toolkit is intended for use by elected officials who wish to address the challenges of implementing or building on a reentry initiative in their community.
Abstract
This document was developed the Justice Policy Center of the Urban Institute as a guide for elected officials seeking to implement or build on a reentry initiative in their community. The toolkit is not meant to be a comprehensive guide to developing a reentry initiative, but rather it provides information and tools to improve the jail-to-community reentry process. The toolkit is divided into two sections. Section 1 provides background information and fact sheets on the following: an overview of jail reentry, jails and the jail population, the jail-to-community continuum and how a jail reentry initiative should work, a list of stakeholders with a vested interest in jail reentry, a list of groups that have expressed support for jail reentry initiatives, a description of the Transition from Jail to Community initiative, and a summary of the 2008 law designed to improve outcomes for people reentering the community from prisons and jails. Section 2 provides tools and resources for implementing or expanding a reentry initiative, and includes examples of reentry initiatives, examples of local legislation authorizing jail reentry initiatives, and profiles of local elected officials involved in reentry initiatives. A list of national resources on jail reentry initiatives is also included in the toolkit.