This report discusses four states’ programs and approaches that are now critical components of their justice systems and represent the diverse challenges and solutions of states that have participated in the Justice Reinvestment Initiative. These programs and approaches are Arkansas’s crisis stabilization units and crisis intervention training; Louisiana’s gender-responsive approach to women’s incarceration and supervision; Oregon’s Improving People's Access to Community-Based Treatment, Supports, and Services program; and Pennsylvania’s performance-based contracting approach to community corrections.
The Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) is a “data-driven approach to managing criminal justice populations and investing savings in recidivism-reduction strategies and improved public safety. The U.S. Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the Pew Charitable Trusts have funded JRI since its inception in 2010. The 36 states that have participated in JRI have saved or averted just over $1 billion, reinvesting half of that in solutions to justice system challenges. Some states have used the JRI process to develop, invest in, and implement new programs for and approaches to solving justice-related challenges. The four JRI programs and approaches presented in this report are 1) Arkansas’s crisis stabilization unit (CSUs) and crisis intervention training; 2) Louisiana’s gender-responsive approach to women’s incarceration and supervision; 3) Oregon’s improving People’s Access to Community-Based Treatment, Supports, and Services (IMPACTS) program; and 4) Pennsylvania’s performance-based contracting approach to community corrections.