Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • New legal clinic concentrates on cases of women languishing in the system for crimes against alleged abusers

    March 16, 2021 |

    Chicago Tribune |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Illinois

    The Women and Survivors Project provides legal representation to women imprisoned for crimes that stemmed from histories of abuse. Nearly all incarcerated women have suffered violent abuse. Many end up punished for fighting back or when their abuser forces them to participate in his crimes, but their defenses often get overlooked in court. The project so far has helped free five women by getting judges or parole officials to reconsider their cases, including one woman convicted of first-degree murder. It has dozens more cases in the pipeline.

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  • ‘Meeting people where they're at': How mobile crisis-response teams work

    March 15, 2021 |

    TVO |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Canada, Thunder Bay, Ontario

    Thunder Bay police formed IMPACT (Integrated Mobile Police Assessment Crisis Team), pairing crisis responders with mental health expertise with police officers to respond 24/7 to people experiencing mental health crises. Instead of defaulting to police responses, which risk the use of force and often land people in custody or a hospital, the teams often are able to get people connected to needed social and health services. So far the team has managed to divert about 40 percent of calls to helping services.

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  • ‘I thought I was gonna die in prison.' How COVID is opening NC prison gates.

    March 12, 2021 |

    The Charlotte Observer |

    Multi-Media |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, North Carolina

    Three incarcerated people and a coalition of social justice groups sued North Carolina over its prison COVID-19 policies, winning a settlement that is accelerating releases from prison that began at the start of the pandemic. The state's prison population is already 17% lower than it was before the pandemic. Under the settlement, 3,500 more people will be granted early releases, which have begun to occur, under new criteria that changed prison rules to recognize the urgency of getting people away from a virus breeding ground.

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  • How Norway's Prisons Have Weathered a Pandemic

    March 12, 2021 |

    Think Global Health |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Norway

    When Covid-19 threatened to disrupt Norway's correctional system, the country's prisons and jails were quick to pivot their practices to protect those who were incarcerated. Although it helped that the country's correctional system was already known for being "small, responsive, and humane," more protocols were put into place to allow some who were incarcerated to complete their sentence at home, while others were provided with iPads to decrease isolation while visits were restricted. So far, only 60 cases of Covid-19 have been reported throughout the entire prison system.

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  • How COVID Impacts Education — Prison Literature Club Adapts During COVID Lockdowns

    March 11, 2021 |

    Rafu Shimpo |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, San Quentin, California

    An educational program called ROOTS (Restoring Our Original True Selves) taught at San Quentin prison in Marin County, California, has transformed into the Literature Club due to the pandemic and has reached other nearby prisons. The Literature Club, started by the Asian Prisoner Support Committee in Oakland, pairs people who are incarcerated with people outside, and they exchange emails to update each other on their reading progress and reflections. "More than a reading group, it’s a supportive space where emotions are openly discussed."

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  • Social Workers Instead of Police? Denver's 911 Experiment Is a Promising Start

    March 10, 2021 |

    Curbed New York |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

    Four years after pairing social workers with police officers on certain nonemergency calls, Denver's STAR program began dispatching a mental-health clinician and paramedic as sole first responders when health and social services are needed rather than arrests, jail, and the risk of police violence. The program in its first six months, though limited by geography and hours, handled 748 calls without any police involvement. Police, in fact, are relaying many of the calls that STAR takes. STAR teaches other large cities useful lessons, but it's only as good as the local mental-health infrastructure.

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  • Seattle Is Using Psychology to Help People Avoid City Fines and Fees

    March 10, 2021 |

    Next City |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

    By redesigning the notices it mails to people who owe the city money for pet licenses or traffic and parking fines, Seattle's Innovation and Performance project greatly improved payment rates. The effort, based on behavioral economics concepts making payment seem easier and more in tune with social norms, has pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars more into city coffers while sparing residents the hassles and greater costs of not paying fees and fines when they're due.

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  • Mindfulness training is helping Philly students – and teachers – thrive Audio icon

    March 09, 2021 |

    The Philadelphia Citizen |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    Amy Edelstein thought that if high school students knew how to meditate they could learn how to focus, stay on track, and regulate negative self-talk. They could become better. So, in 2014 she started the Inner Strength Foundation to provide public schools with research-backed mindfulness curriculum. The curriculum has become a 12-week program, with instructors visiting classrooms in 19 schools across the city once a week.

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  • How One School Is Using House Calls to Keep Kids Learning During the Pandemic

    March 08, 2021 |

    The 74 |

    Video |

    3-5 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Washington, District of Columbia

    Every Wednesday, the Culture Team at Achievement Preparatory Academy in Washington, D.C. makes house calls to help battle chronic absenteeism. The team celebrates some students for improvements and perfect attendance, helps motivate others who are falling behind, and maintains contact with others who just need a little push.

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  • Using Tech, California Counties Have Cleared 140,000 Marijuana-Related Convictions

    March 05, 2021 |

    Next City |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, California

    After California legalized marijuana, it offered people a way to erase their marijuana-related criminal records. But few tried, in part because the process was difficult. Code for America's Clear My Record initiative automated the process by creating lists of cases eligible for expungement and notifying counties that they could easily take the next step. As a result, 140,000 convictions have been reduced or dismissed, relieving those people of the burden of a criminal record when applying for a job. CFA is working to expand the program nationwide.

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