The unprecedented surge in incarceration since 1980 has stimulated a national debate between those who claim that locking up over 2 million people is necessitated by public safety concerns, and those who say the human and financial burden of imprisoning so many of our citizens is intolerable.
But framing the incarceration debate as a tradeoff between …
The National Association of Drug Court Professionals is proud to announce that the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) released its fourth report on Drug Courts last week, concluding once again that Drug Courts reduce recidivism and save money. The report, ADULT DRUG COURTS: Studies Show Courts Reduce Recidivism, but DOJ Could Enhance Future Performance …
December 28, 2011 Tags: news, US
Category: Addiction, Policy No Comments 
Summary
A drug court is a specialized court that targets criminal offenders who have drug addiction and dependency problems. These programs provide offenders with intensive court supervision, mandatory drug testing, substance-abuse treatment, and other social services as an alternative to adjudication or incarceration. As of June 2010, there were over 2,500 drug courts operating nationwide, of …
December 11, 2011 Tags: resources, US
Category: Addiction, Policy No Comments
Policymakers from all 50 states, including corrections directors, legislative leaders, judges and governors’ staff, gathered today in Washington, D.C., to discuss strategies to reduce recidivism through better work on prisoner re-entry into society. Laurie Robinson, assistant attorney general for Justice Programs, talked about four “core strategies”: using good risk-measurement instruments to focus on those most …
December 8, 2011 Tags: news, US
Category: Policy, Reform No Comments
Does Re-Entry Turn Tax Takers To Tax Payers? (NPR)
I’m Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Coming up, what happens when a young woman who’s lived in the U.S. since she was three days old discovers that she is undocumented. We’ll hear her story in just a few minutes. It’s the latest in our series called In Limbo. It’s …
December 9, 2011 Tags: commentary, US
Category: Employment, Policy No Comments