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Courting The Ones Who Need It

Kaylee Tornay Brittany Norton Sam Felton Natalia Riccardi

August 24, 2017 |

Eugene Weekly |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Eugene, Oregon

Developed in 2016, the Eugene Community Court program offers individuals cited for nonviolent, minor crimes an alternative to prison. If a person agrees to participate, they are matched with a case manager who connects them to the resources they need, like substance abuse treatment or job training services. The city hopes to decrease the rate of recidivism by creating tailored programs for each individual and spark a societal shift that has long criminalized poverty.

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Pennsylvania training mentally ill inmates to help others on the cellblock

Katie Colaneri

August 01, 2017 |

WHYY |

Multi-Media |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Pennsylvania

Peer to peer programs have existed since the 1980s. These programs pair up a person with mental health illness, with one another. The concept, is relatively new in the prison systems, and is gaining traction in states like Pennsylvania.

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Meet a new breed of prosecutor

Henry Gass

July 17, 2017 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Texas

Across the country, a small number of young prosecutors are changing the face of our current criminal justice system. They are moving away from the “strict law-and-order practices of the past,” and employing a more liberal approach: “eschewing the death penalty, talking rehabilitation as much as punishment, and often refusing to charge people for minor offenses.”

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Nueces County ditches juvenile boot camp for new approach

Krista M. Torralva

June 23, 2017 |

Corpus Christi Caller Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Nueces County, Texas

In Nueces County, Texas, military-style boot camp was the norm for troubled juveniles, who were forced to complete drills that simulate ROTC with instructors. The newly named Robert N. Barnes Region Juvenile Facility began replacing this antiquated method with therapeutic support and yoga relaxation techniques focus on the psycho-social health of troubled juveniles. The facility serves as a model of what boot camps could become.

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Addicts Need Help. Jails Could Have the Answer.

Sam Quinones

June 16, 2017 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Covington, Kentucky

Kentucky is rethinking its penal system for dealing with drug offenders and has shown success in reducing recidivism and relapse rates. Instead of leaving addicts to languish in the typical jailhouse environment of "extortion, violence and tedium," more than two dozen of the state's county jails have created separate units devoted to full-time addiction treatment and support-services for prisoners that involve peer-policing.

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This Camden Halfway Home is Reducing Recidivism Across the River

Dominique “Peak” Johnson

May 11, 2017 |

Billy Penn |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Camden, New Jersey

Many previously incarcerated people struggle to both rehabilitate and gain the necessary skills for a successful post-prison life. This article looks at Hope Hall, a halfway house using a comprehensive approach meant to address underlying issues of incarceration as well as prepare participants for future employment.

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Philadelphia Treatment Court gives a 'second chance'

Albert Hong

May 04, 2017 |

Temple University |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In Philadelphia, people facing felony drug charges can opt for a yearlong program in a treatment court where their progress is monitored to ensure they avoid substance use, get treatment and stay in contact with their case managers. Judges presiding over the court work with those who miss those goals to help them reflect on how they can graduate, even if there are stumbles along the way. Those who successfully complete the program can work to get the felonies expunged from their records.

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Battling Meth: A Rural Montana County is on the Frontline of National Foster Care Surge

Daniel Heimpel

April 28, 2017 |

The Chronicle of Social Change |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Lake County, Montana

The drug crisis has reached new extremes in many parts of the country, as meth and opioids continue to tear families apart and funnel even more children into an already-strapped foster care system. In rural Montana, law enforcement and communities are trying a new approach to battling drug addiction, focusing on supportive family counseling and "drug courts" to help treat - rather than imprison - those struggling with addiction. In Lake County, Family Drug Treatment Courts are working to divert addicts from the vicious cycle and keep more families together.

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Has a bold reform plan helped to shrink Philly's prison population?

David Gambacorta Samantha Melamed

April 12, 2017 |

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network) |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia has one of the highest incarceration rates in the country, but with a $3.5 million McArthur Foundation grant the city has used several initiatives to change that. The efforts appear to be working, with the number of inmates falling by 12 percent over one year. Programs include getting addicts treatment instead of more jail time, working to release those who cannot afford bail ahead of a trial and making attorneys more available for those who want to seek early parole.

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Mentally ill man worse off after acquittal

Jessica Priest

April 08, 2017 |

The Victoria Advocate |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Victoria, Texas

“Two million people with mental illness are booked into jails every year.” Mental health courts, would take into accounts a person’s illness, rather than solely focusing on the crime.

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