Criminal Justice Reform
One act of love can reform a system failing juvenile offenders
Originally published in The Philadelphia Inquirer Aqilah David’s journey began with an act of love. Living alone with her 10-year-old brother and 6-year-old sister — partially due to adults…
Read More: One act of love can reform a system failing juvenile offendersPennsylvania’s Justice Reinvestment Initiatives of 2012 and 2019 successfully reduced the state’s prison population while maintaining community safety. But our work is far from over. With a state recidivism rate of 41 percent, now is the time for reforms that promote reintegration into society and enable the criminal justice system to focus its resources where it counts. Pennsylvania can continue to lead the nation in powerful criminal justice reforms that preserve public safety, save taxpayer resources, and promote true rehabilitation.
Criminal Justice Reform
Does Justice Reinvestment Work?
One of the foremost, data-driven efforts in the nation to make criminal justice truly fair and effective is under consideration in the Pennsylvania House after a unanimous vote in the…
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Corrections Reform for Safer Communities
Nowadays, Republicans and Democrats struggle to find common ground. In the rare moments when they do, you can be sure you’ve got a winning policy. Last week, the Pennsylvania Senate…
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Up, Up, and Away: Snapshots from Wolf’s Budget
Soon lawmakers in Harrisburg will begin debating the 2019-2020 budget and what to do with excess revenue from the booming economy. Here’s your two-minute summary of the budget situation and…
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Should Pa. Wreck Lives Over a Technicality?
Pennsylvania’s correctional system has a “revolving door” problem. Over 63 percent of the correctional population will return to prison within three years. To change Pennsylvania’s reputation as “imprisonment king”…
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Four Ways Lawmakers Are Setting Up Pa. For Success
Freedom and opportunity are on the move in the Keystone State. In the past week, lawmakers have taken four serious strides for the families and business owners of Pennsylvania. We’re…
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Senate Committee Passes Transformative Criminal Justice Reform
Pennsylvania is one step closer to another landmark criminal justice reform. Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed the Justice Reinvestment Initiative II (JRI II). This three-bill reform package…
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Moving Toward Efficient, Effective Criminal Justice
The economy is growing, but Pennsylvania just keeps sinking deeper into debt. Since 1970, we’ve tripled our overall operating budget—but our population has grown only 8 percent. Even adjusting for…
Media
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Fighting Poverty can be a Bipartisan Effort
Here's a letter I submitted to the Philadelphia Daily News on how Pennsylvanians of any ideology can share good intent, and work toward a common goal. I was disappointed…
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An Overview of Justice Reinvestment Initiative II
JRI II seeks to address high corrections spending, insufficient support for county probation, and inadequate pretrial and sentencing guidance. The result: fair and effective punishments that equip people for life after…
Fact Sheet
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Milwaukee Study: School Choice Linked to Fewer Broken Families, Convictions
Former Pennsylvania Secretary of Public Welfare Helen O’Bannon once lamented “the family breaking up” as the root cause of an “untrained, unskilled” workforce, which increases “single, female heads of…
Media
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Can Criminal Justice Reform Unite America?
The following op-ed first appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Are partisan division and political bickering unavoidable in American politics? The headlines make it seem so, but it’s not true.
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Pennsylvania State Budget Trends
On February 5, Governor Wolf will lay out his proposal for the 2019-20 state budget. Here are some key facts on spending trends, last year’s enacted budget, and challenges going…
Fact Sheet
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Today’s Opportunities in the Spirit of King
It’s been a shame that we’ve collectively spent so much time this month talking about the wrong King (Rep. Steve King) and views that harken back to our worst…
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Punitive Occupational Licensing Laws Bar Pennsylvanians from Work
Pennsylvania’s occupational licensing laws are keeping two Philadelphia women out of work. Courtney Haveman and Amanda Spillane have sued the commonwealth after the Pennsylvania Cosmetology Board denied their cosmetology licenses…
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Pa. Prison Population Plummets by Most in History
Pennsylvania’s prison population dropped by 1,068 individuals in 2018, according to new Department of Corrections numbers—the sharpest decline ever recorded. The number of incarcerated Pennsylvanians declined in six of…
Press Release
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Tough on Crime, Smart on Justice
Commentators called it a “Christmas miracle.” In late December, Congressional Republicans and Democrats cooperated to pass the FIRST STEP Act, America’s most significant federal sentencing and prison reform…
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The Next Step for Criminal Justice Reform
In an op-ed last week, CF’s president Charles Mitchell and former CF board chair Jane Janeczek offered an appraisal of the First Step Act signed by President Trump on…
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The Justice Reinvestment Initiative II
The Justice Reinvestment Initiative recommends fair and effective punishments that equip offenders for life, while controlling costs and improving safety.
Poll
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Smart on Crime Reforms in 2017-18
“If it's failed policy, we should have the courage to leave it and let it go.” This poignant quote from former Senator Stewart Greenleaf encapsulates the essence of recent…
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One Policy Where Trump and Wolf Agree
President Trump and Gov. Tom Wolf agree: minimum sentencing laws are counterproductive. Last Wednesday, President Trump announced his support of the FIRST STEP Act. The bill gives federal judges more…
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Three Bills to Help Vulnerable Pennsylvanians Await Signature
Last week we celebrated passage of a transformative welfare reform bill, which Governor Wolf vetoed late Friday afternoon. But it wasn't the only good policy that cleared both chambers…
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