Two interesting new schemes on the launchpad in Arkansas and Colorado, happy reading…
U.S. – Legislators Hear Plan To Reduce Number Of Inmates Who Return To Prison
City Wire
To reduce a rising prison recidivism rate, the state of Arkansas should hire more parole officers, create a “pay for success” program where investors receive a return when private providers have higher success rates, and establish re-entry centers for offenders preparing to leave prison.
Those were among a list of 24 recommendations presented to legislators Tuesday (Dec. 2) by the Arkansas Department of Community Correction, the state agency responsible for supervising parolees and offenders on probation.
Sheila Sharp, director, and Kevin Murphy, assistant director, presented the report to a joint meeting of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees and the House and Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committees. The report was created as a result of Act 1190 of 2013. The known annual cost to implement most of the provisions is about $16.6 million, with the goal being to reduce costly recidivism rates.
With Pay for Success financing gaining traction and attention across the country, Chalkbeat Colorado, in cooperation with the Institute for Child Success, will be hosting a half-day conference to bring state and national leaders together to discuss best practices and opportunities for leveraging this model to benefit early childhood programs right here in Colorado.
The event will take place on December 9th and will discuss not only the opportunity it presents for Colorado but also invites leaders who have implemented the model in other states, like Utah, to shed light on how they have used it and what their key learnings have been to date.
The event will include a keynote, a presentation by Senator Michael Bennet’s office, as well as two panel discussions that will address national and local Pay for Success projects, possibilities, and challenges. Among the panelists will be Early Learning Ventures (ELV) Director Judy Williams. Judy will be discussing how ELV delivers a first-of-its kind network of Alliances that provide child care providers with tools and support. These efforts expand access to quality child care programs by helping providers save time and money, thus allowing them to focus on the most important part of their day – caring for and educating children.
Register HERE.