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Desistance from Crime: Interventions to Help Promote Desistance and Reduce Recidivism

November 2022

No single criminal justice agency can promote desistance on its own. Partnerships across state, local, and federal agencies — along with the support of family and community stakeholders — are instrumental in supporting desistance from crime and reducing recidivism.

Law enforcement, courts, corrections, and community supervision agencies play a key role in the desistance process and reducing recidivism.

Learning from Doing Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Second Chance Act Grant Program

April 2022

Reauthorized in 2018, the Second Chance Act (SCA) aims to reduce recidivism and improve outcomes for people returning from state and federal prisons, local jails, and juvenile facilities through the provision of federal grants. During this panel, National Institute of Justice-funded researchers will detail two ongoing evaluations of the SCA grant program:

  1. An evaluation of the effectiveness of the SCA grant program per Title V of the First Step Act.
  2. A longitudinal examination of the long-term impacts of the SCA program.

The Hidden Costs of Reentry: Understanding the Barriers to Removing a Criminal Record

May 2022

NIJ hosted a webinar to discuss under-researched aspects of reentry: expungement of criminal records and the impact of those records. This webinar includes a presentation of ongoing research projects examining the impact of legal aid for expungement and past research projects studying the accuracy and permanency of criminal records and the prevalence of collateral consequences of conviction. A Q&A session will conclude this webinar.

From Successful Reentry to Stronger Communities

May 2022
What is reentry? Why is it important? And what research is being done in this field? NIJ Journal Editor Beth Pearsall hosts a conversation on reentry with Senior Science Advisor Angela Moore, Senior Social Science Analyst Marie Garcia, and Social Science Analyst Eric Martin.

Addressing Challenges in Reentry and Human Services

NIJ has released three white papers that address important challenges in the reentry arena – the payment of fines and fees, securing employment, and access to human services post-release. 

Recruitment, Assessment, and Retention in the Direct Care Workforce for Individuals with Criminal Records: A Comprehensive Model Approach

Recruitment, Assessment, and Retention in the Direct Care...