North Dakota’s Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) Reentry Study Working Group’s comprehensive report provides 26 key recommendations for improving reentry for justice-involved individuals in the state. The goal of this JRI effort is to reduce recidivism and improve rehabilitation for justice-involved individuals in the state, to be implemented through a series of evidence-based policies.
Read the Report:
Read the Report Summary:
This brief explores ways to address North Dakota’s reentry process with five overarching goals:
- Expand Pathways to Alternatives to Incarceration
- Decrease the Number of Individuals Entering Prison Due to a Drug or Alcohol Offense, or Revocation from Supervision
- Reduce Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System
- Further Support Successful Transition Back into the Community
- Increase Cross-agency Collaboration Between System Partners
Technical Assistance Disclaimer
The Crime and Justice Institute (CJI) is a nonprofit organization that offers bipartisan technical assistance and support to states and jurisdictions making changes to their criminal justice systems. CJI has supported states through the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) for more than 10 years. JRI projects are funded by a public-private partnership through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and Arnold Ventures (AV).
During the 2023 legislative session, the North Dakota legislature passed House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 3026. The bill established the North Dakota Justice Reinvestment Initiative Reentry Study Work Group (Work Group) to identify research-based strategies that improve reentry practices and outcomes and maximize the state’s corrections resources to ensure the greatest return on taxpayer investments. During fall 2023, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Senator Donald Schaible, Representative Dennis Johnson, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Jon Jensen requested technical assistance, through JRI, from CJI.
The Work Group included 15 stakeholders representing the legislature, the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (DOCR), the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS), as well as courts, county jails, and direct service providers. The group first convened in the fall of 2023 and met five times throughout 2024 to conduct a rigorous review of statewide prison and community supervision data, evaluate existing policies and programming, identify research-based practices, and engage in detailed policy discussions.
Based on the findings of their review and analysis, the Work Group produced 26 comprehensive recommendations, informed by the expertise of each member of the Work Group. These recommendations and the findings are contained in this report issued by the Work Group in October 2024.
The findings, recommendations, and report do not represent the position of the technical assistance provider, BJA, or AV.