Jail to Community Reentry Initiative (JCRI)

Description

Reintegration from our nation’s jails to the community had proven challenging due to the brief length of stays in jails, complex health and human service needs of justice-involved adults, and the lack of community-based coordination for support and post-release programming. On a national level, the magnitude is best appreciated when considering the nearly 11 million adults transitioning through our nation’s 3,163 jail facilities annually. Empirical evidence demonstrated the need for a national strategy to improve post-release outcomes through effective programming and practices that address offenders' criminogenic risks and the collateral consequences of incarceration. In response, the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) launched the Transition from Jails to Community (TJC) Initiative in 2007. The goal of the initiative was to explore the evidence-based and promising practices related to effective community reintegration – providing targeted technical assistance to fourteen learning sites (including two jurisdictions selected in response to California Assembly Bill 109). Supported by research, TJC promoted; (1) the use of actuarial risk and need screening instruments, (2) the provision of cognitive-behavioral interventions, and (3) the inclusion of case management and case planning practices through active coordination and planning with jails and their community partners/stakeholders.

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