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Keeping mental health patients stable and out of jail

Alisa Roth

June 02, 2015 |

Marketplace |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Rochester, New York

Like the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams that help seriously mentally ill people avoid costly long-term hospital stays, Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) teams try to help the same population avoid jail also. By providing intensive case management to avoid the pitfalls that lead to criminal charges, and connecting people living in the community with needed services, these teams have shown early indications that their patients spend less time in both jails and hospitals. They are more expensive than outpatient clinics, but in the long run may be cheaper than hospitals and jails.

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Guiding Families to a Fair Day in Court

David Bornstein

May 29, 2015 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Jose, California

Millions of families of arrested individuals do not know what to do to help, how to obtain a lawyer, or what the process entails in the court system. Created by Albert Cobarrubius Justice Project, participatory defense is a type of community organizing that teaches and empowers people who face criminal charges. Individuals know how to work with attorneys in order to navigate the system and ultimately feel equipped to become drivers of their own change.

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The Seattle model Ithaca may use to shatter drug-jail cycle

Jeff Stein

May 22, 2015 |

The Ithaca Voice |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Ithaca, New York

The law often traps offenders in a cycle of lawbreaking. LEAD allows for drug users to become committed to a program that helps them through the quitting process instead of throwing them into prison and isolating them from the help they need.

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America's War On Drugs Has Failed. This Program Might Be The Solution.

Carly Schwartz

May 07, 2015 |

The Huffington Post |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

The war on drugs has put millions in jail and fails to curb illegal drug use. Tactics that focus on helping addicts are far more successful, such as Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) and other decriminalization/community-partnership programs.

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Behind Prison Walls, This Program Demonstrates That It's Never Too Late to Learn

Spencer Parts

April 30, 2015 |

NationSwell |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Princeton, New Jersey

The Petey Greene program, which has students tutor prison inmates, is helping to create positive impact and change in the lives of both the university student tutors and the inmates they mentor. It provides prisoners with better opportunities once they are released, and the tutors with a renewed appreciation of the power of education.

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For some, Anchorage Wellness Court offers a road to redemption

Hope Miller

April 23, 2015 |

KTVA |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Anchorage, Alaska

Therapeutic courts like the Anchorage Wellness Court were born out of a desire to reduce recidivism rates and deflate ballooning prison populations. For many, they have become the answer to breaking the cycle of criminal behavior while treating people with substance abuse issues.

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In Finland's 'open prisons,' inmates have the keys

Rae Ellen Bichell

April 15, 2015 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: Finland, Kerava

Inmates at the prison in Kerava, Finland, do their own shopping and have keys. Open prisons are the final step of the penal system, one that encourages prisoners—who must apply to the prison, but may be welcome even if they've committed murder—to adjust back into society.

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After 39 years in prison, an epic tale of innocence found and bitterness lost

Jacob Baynham

April 12, 2015 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Cleveland, Ohio

Ricky Jackson was the longest-serving innocent man in US history. Now, after 39 years, he's free of prison – and resentment.

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Glasgow smiles: how the city halved its murders by 'caring people into change'

Peter Geoghegan

April 06, 2015 |

The Guardian |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Scotland, Glasgow

Ten years ago, Glasgow was western Europe’s murder capital. But the Violence Reduction Unit, an offshoot of the police force, invented an offender rehabilitation strategy – borrowed from anti-gang violence initiatives spearheaded in Boston in the 1990s – that combined creative thinking with old-fashioned enforcement.

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Out of Debtors' Prison, With Law as the Key

Tina Rosenberg

March 27, 2015 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Norwalk, Ohio

Rampant misconduct by judicial systems across the country brought to light a crippling practice of debtors' prisons—where disadvantaged individuals unable to pay fines and fees were continually and wrongfully imprisoned, creating a vicious cycle. The American Civil Liberties Union stepped in to work with governments and private companies to increase transparency, eliminate abuse, and reeducate law enforcement officials. The state of Ohio has emerged as a leader in reforming debtors' prisons, though there is still work to do.

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